The fourth quarter earnings season commenced on Tuesday with quarterly reports from Delta Air Lines and JPMorgan Chase. Additional bank earnings are scheduled for later this week.
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. 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. On September 30, the consensus estimate for S&P 500 fourth quarter earnings growth was 7.2%.
Major financial companies will report throughout the week. Bank of New York Mellon reported on Tuesday. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are scheduled for Wednesday. BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley will report on Friday.
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 a similar amount.
Days after President Trump proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10%, corporate executives warned the policy could have wide-ranging ramifications. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated on the company's earnings call, "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 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. "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."
It remains unclear how Trump could implement a one-year credit card APR limit without legislation from Congress. On Tuesday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would explore the president's idea.
Johnson acknowledged there could be "unintended consequences" of such a move. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian echoed this sentiment during the company's earnings call on Tuesday.
Delta offers a co-branded credit card with American Express that contributes an estimated 13% of its annual revenue. The partnership continues to be lucrative for Delta: revenue from the card grew 11% year over year to $8.2 billion in 2025, the company reported 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. "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."
JPMorgan posted fourth quarter results on Tuesday that beat revenue estimates but missed earnings expectations. Net income was impacted by its deal to take over the Apple Card from Goldman Sachs.
Delta Airlines' stock sank 5% before the bell on Tuesday despite posting upbeat fourth quarter results, as forecasts fell below estimates. The airline company said growth in the premium business and lack of certain headwinds would propel its business forward in 2026.