Big Banks Kick Off Q4 Earnings Season: Why JPMorgan's Results Suggest Mild 2023 Recession Is The Base Case

Zinger Key Points
  • Investors saw signs of a recession in the earnings reports of one the nation’s largest banks Friday.
  • Big banks in the U.S. have been setting aside money to cover bad consumer loans, signaling a mild recession could be ahead.

Rising interest rates, weak consumer spending, and inflation reaching a four-decade high have all contributed to a tough outlook for the American economy in recent months.

While most economists predict a recession in 2023, investors found signals in one of the earnings reports issued by the nation's largest banks Friday.

What Happened: JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM said it is gearing up for a mild recession, warning on Friday's earnings call that it is putting additional resources aside to offset credit losses as a mild economic downturn is its "central case."

The bank reported a 6% year-over-year increase in profit to $11.01 billion, or $3.57 per share. Revenue increased 17% to $35.57 billion, owing to an increase in net interest earnings to $20.3 billion.

A key aspect of the New York bank’s earnings repot: it posted a $2.3-billion provision for bad loans in the quarter, a 49% increase from the third quarter and exceeding the $1.96-billion Street estimate, as it sets aside money for anticipated delinquencies as its clients accumulate bad debt.

According to the bank, the move was motivated by a moderate degradation of its macroeconomic outlook, now reflecting a base case of a mild recession, as well as loan growth from Chase credit card customers.

Shares of JP Morgan Chase are trading 1.24% higher to $141.26 Friday.

Read also: Big Bank Earnings Supported by Strong Net Interest Income, But Questions Arise on How Long it Can Last

Why It Matters: Chase isn’t the only bank alluding to a recession.

Bank of America Corp BAC also made a move on its reserves for soured loans, adding $403 million, reversing from the release of $851 million in reserves one year ago.

The North Carolina-based bank reported revenue of $24.5 billion in the third quarter, beating estimates of $24.2 billion and increasing 11% year-over-year.

Earnings remained stable at $7.1 billion, or 85 cents per share. This was slightly higher than $7 billion on a year-over-year basis. 

Shares of Bank of America are trading 0.7% higher to $34.71.

Citigroup Inc C posted net income of $2.5 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share, exceeding expectations of $2.3 billion, or $1.14 per share.

Citigroup also added to its reserves, to the tune of $640 million for bad consumer credit loans.

Shares of Citigroup are trading 0.86% higher to $49.52.

Wells Fargo & Co WFC reported earnings of 67 cents per share on $19.7 billion in revenue, beating analyst estimates on earnings per share but falling short on total bookings.

Shares of Wells Fargo are trading 1.12% lower to $42.35.

Read next: Why This Bank Analyst Is No Longer Bullish On Ally, Capital One

Benzinga file photo of Jamie Dimon by Dustin Blitchok. 

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Date
ticker
name
Actual EPS
EPS Surprise
Actual Rev
Rev Surprise
Posted In: EarningsLarge CapMid CapNewsTop Storiesbanksbig banksInflationInterest RatesRecession
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!