The fourth quarter earnings season began this week with reports from Delta Air Lines and JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday. More bank results followed through Friday.
Wall Street analysts estimate S&P 500 companies will report an 8.3% earnings per share growth rate for the quarter, according to FactSet data. This would mark the tenth straight quarter of annual earnings growth for the index.
Analysts had raised their earnings expectations heading into the reporting period. On September 30, the consensus estimate for S&P 500 fourth quarter earnings growth was 7.2%.
Bank stocks sold off on Wednesday despite what analysts called pretty good fourth quarter results. Concerns about Federal Reserve independence and President Trump's credit card rate cap proposal overshadowed the reports.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo stocks fell by 5%. Citigroup shares dropped more than 4%. JPMorgan Chase shares, which reported on Tuesday, declined around 1%.
"The only negative point was really investment banking," B. Riley Wealth chief market strategist Art Hogan said of the big bank results. He argued 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. "I think investors have grown to view policy as sort of a one-way dynamic towards deregulation and factors that are beneficial to banks," Martinez told Yahoo Finance.
More bank CEOs 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 profits declined 13% year over year. The bank recorded a $1.2 billion loss on the sale of its Russia unit. Excluding that loss, Citi posted adjusted earnings per share of $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.
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.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on Tuesday's earnings call that a 10% credit card rate cap "would be dramatic" if enacted. JPMorgan is the nation's top credit card issuer.
The company's CFO, Jeremy Barnum, added that consumers 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.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian also commented on the proposal during his company's earnings call. "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.
Delta offers a co-branded credit card with American Express that contributes an estimated 13% of its annual revenue. Revenue from the card grew 11% year over year to $8.2 billion in 2025.
On Thursday, BlackRock reported pulling in $342 billion of total client cash in the fourth quarter. This pushed the company to a record $14 trillion of assets. BlackRock stock edged higher by almost 2% during premarket trading.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock were scheduled to report results on Friday. All three stocks traded lower on Wednesday ahead of their reports.