The fourth-quarter earnings season commenced on Tuesday with reports from Delta Air Lines and JPMorgan Chase. More bank results are scheduled for later this week.
Wall Street analysts project S&P 500 companies will report an 8.3% earnings per share growth for the quarter, according to FactSet data. This would mark a tenth consecutive quarter of annual earnings growth for the index.
Analysts have raised their earnings expectations heading into the reporting period. The consensus estimate for S&P 500 fourth-quarter earnings growth was 7.2% on September 30.
Major financial firms are set to report throughout the week. Bank of New York Mellon reports Tuesday. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo report Wednesday. BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley report Friday.
During earnings calls, executives from JPMorgan Chase and Delta Air Lines addressed President Trump's recent proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated, "If it happened the way it was described, it would be dramatic." JPMorgan is the nation's top credit card issuer.
JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum added that consumers, particularly those with subprime risk profiles, would likely face service changes. "People will lose access to credit, like on a very, very extensive and broad basis, especially the people who need it the most, ironically," Barnum said. He called it a "severely negative consequence for consumers" and potentially for the economy.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian echoed concerns about "unintended consequences." Delta's co-branded credit card with American Express contributed an estimated 13% of its annual revenue, with card revenue growing 11% year-over-year to $8.2 billion in 2025.
"I think one of the big issues and challenges with the potential order is the fact that it would actually restrict the lower-end consumer from having access to any credit," Bastian said. "So from our standpoint, we'll be working closely with American Express, but I don't see any way we could even begin to contemplate how that would be implemented."
It remains unclear how the policy could be implemented without congressional legislation. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday he would explore the president's idea, acknowledging potential "unintended consequences."
In other earnings news, JPMorgan reported fourth-quarter results that beat revenue estimates but missed earnings expectations. Delta Air Lines posted upbeat fourth-quarter results, but its stock fell 5% as forecasts fell below estimates.