Big Banks In The Earnings Spotlight: Citigroup, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo

• Three big banks are among companies kicking off the new earnings season this week.
• Consensus forecasts from Wall Street analysts call for bottom-line declines from all three of them.
• However, one is expected to offer some growth in revenue, relative to the year-ago period.

The second-quarter reporting season kicks off this week, and as usual the big banks are among the first to take their turns in the earnings spotlight. In particular, reports are expected from Citigroup Inc C, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM and Wells Fargo & Co WFC.

The Wall Street forecasts call for shrinking earnings from all three of these banks, relative to the same period of last year. However, unlike the other two, Wells Fargo will show modest growth on the top line, if the analysts are correct.

Below is a quick look at what is expected from the reports of these three banks, as well as a peek at some of other companies that also are on tap to post quarterly results this week.

Citigroup

In its report early on Friday, this financial services giant is expected to say that in its second quarter it had earnings of $1.16 per share, according to 39 Estimize respondents. That would be about 23 percent less than in the same period of last year. The Wall Street consensus estimate is just $1.13 per share, but note that the analysts underestimated EPS by as much as 12 percent in recent quarters.

The Estimize revenue estimates were greater than the posted results in the previous quarter, and this time, the respondents are looking for about $17.81 million. The Wall Street revenue forecast is $17.67 billion. In the same period of last year, Citigroup reported $19.16 billion in revenue.

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JPMorgan

The consensus Wall Street forecast calls for this multinational banking company to post second-quarter earnings of $1.44 per share (which would be a dime less than in the year-ago period) and for revenue to have slipped less than 2 percent to $24.14 billion in the period. Note that the bank topped consensus EPS expectations in the previous four quarters.

Estimize is a bit more pessimistic, with the consensus of 59 respondents pegging earnings at $1.43 per share, but on revenue of $23.85 billion for the three months that ended in June. Back in the first quarter, Estimize underestimated the numbers on both the top and bottom lines. JPMorgan is scheduled to share its latest results before Thursday's opening bell.

Wells Fargo

The second-quarter profit of this San Francisco-based bank is predicted to have slipped two cents per share, according to Wall Street analysts, from the $1.01 reported a year ago. The consensus of 38 Estimize respondents has EPS the same as last year. First-quarter earnings were in line with the Estimize forecast.

In Friday morning's report, analysts are looking for $22.22 billion in revenue. Estimize is a tad more optimistic, with a forecast of $22.30 billion for the three months that ended in June. Back in the previous quarter, revenue handily topped both forecasts. And note that either of the the second-quarter forecasts would be the highest quarterly revenue in the past two years.

And Others

Other banks scheduled to share their latest results this week include PNC Financial and USBancorp. Top- and bottom-line declines also are predicted for the former, but the latter is expected to offer some earnings and revenue growth. Next week, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are on deck.

In addition, Wall Street analysts expect to see at least some earnings growth from Infosys and Yum! Brands when they post their latest results this week. The EPS at Fastenal will be the same as a year ago, and at Alcoa, CSX, Progressive and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will be smaller, if analysts' expectations are on target.

The new earnings season ramps up in the following week. Watch for the latest results from the likes of AT&T, General Electric, General Motors, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Netflix, Philip Morris, Starbucks and Visa.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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