The fourth quarter earnings season commenced this week with reports from Delta Air Lines and JPMorgan Chase. Additional bank earnings are scheduled to follow in the coming days.
Wall Street analysts estimate S&P 500 companies will report an earnings per share growth rate of 8.3% for the fourth quarter, according to FactSet data. If realized, this would mark the tenth consecutive quarter of annual earnings growth for the index.
Analysts have raised their earnings expectations heading into the reporting period, particularly for technology companies. The consensus estimate for S&P 500 fourth quarter earnings growth stood at 7.2% on September 30.
Major financial companies will report throughout the week. Bank of New York Mellon reported on Tuesday. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo reported on Wednesday. BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are set to report on Friday.
On Wednesday, bank stocks sold off as concerns about Federal Reserve independence and a presidential proposal to cap credit card interest rates overshadowed quarterly results. Bank of America and Wells Fargo stocks fell by 5%, while Citigroup shares dropped more than 4%. JPMorgan Chase shares, which reported on Tuesday, declined around 1%.
B. Riley Wealth chief market strategist Art Hogan said of the big bank results, "The only negative point was really investment banking," suggesting the segment could rebound in coming quarters. HSBC head of US financials research Saul Martinez attributed JPMorgan's stock underperformance to policy "overhang" and high expectations.
Martinez told Yahoo Finance, "I think investors have grown to view policy as sort of a one-way dynamic towards deregulation and factors that are beneficial to banks. Some of the news flow over the weekend — the rate cap social media post and concerns about Fed independence — have now ... had an impact perhaps on that view and reminded investors that policy changes can sometimes be risks as well."
More bank executives pushed back against the credit card rate cap proposal on Wednesday. Citigroup’s outgoing CFO Mark Mason said, "An interest rate cap is not something that we would or could support, frankly." He added such a move would "likely result in a significant slowdown in the economy."
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told analysts, "We're all in for affordability," while arguing why limiting credit card interest rates would have adverse effects.
Citigroup stock fell 2% after reporting a 13% year-over-year decline in fourth quarter profits, impacted by a $1.2 billion loss on the sale of its Russia unit. The bank posted net income of $2.5 billion and earnings per share of $1.19. Excluding the Russia-unit sale, adjusted earnings per share were $1.86.
Investment banking revenue at Citigroup climbed 35% to $1.29 billion, driven by a surge in its M&A advisory business. Its markets division reported a 1% drop in trading fees compared to the year-ago period.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo reported fourth quarter earnings and rising annual profits on Wednesday morning. Bank of America stock rose about 1%, while Wells Fargo stock fell by the same amount.
On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon commented on the credit card proposal, saying, "If it happened the way it was described, it would be dramatic." JPMorgan is the nation's top credit card issuer.
The company's CFO, Jeremy Barnum, added, "People will lose access to credit, like on a very, very extensive and broad basis, especially the people who need it the most, ironically. And so that's a pretty severely negative consequence for consumers and, frankly, probably also a negative consequence for the economy as a whole right now."
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian also commented on the proposal during the company's earnings call on Tuesday. "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, not just what the interest rate they're paying, which would upend the whole credit card industry," Bastian said.
Delta's revenue from its co-branded American Express card grew 11% year over year to $8.2 billion in 2025.
JPMorgan posted fourth quarter results on Tuesday that beat revenue estimates but missed earnings expectations, as net income was hit following its deal to take over the Apple Card from Goldman Sachs.
Delta Air Lines' stock sank 5% before the bell on Tuesday despite posting upbeat fourth quarter results, as forecasts fell below estimates.
On Thursday, Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC reported a 35% surge in fourth quarter profit. The stock jumped 6% in premarket trading. TSMC reported revenue of $33.73 billion, topping company guidance and Wall Street estimates. Fourth quarter profits per ADR share hit a record $3.14.
For the first quarter, TSMC expects revenue between $34.6 billion and $35.8 billion, with gross profit margins between 63% and 65%. The company expects 2026 revenue to increase by close to 30% year over year as artificial intelligence supports strong demand for its chips.
BlackRock stock edged higher by almost 2% on Thursday during premarket trading after the asset manager pulled in $342 billion of total client cash in the fourth quarter. This pushed the company to a record $14 trillion of assets.
Goldman Sachs topped profit estimates as dealmaking activity bucked Wall Street trends.