The season of American quarterly reports officially begins and, as per tradition, the first to publish the accounts are the 90 pieces of the banking sector: JP Morgan, Bofa, BlackRock and Citigroup.
JP Morgan's quarterly
JPMorgan Chase (+1,78% on Wall Street) ended the fourth quarter with profits down 15%, due to the costs linked to the rescue of the regional banks, but higher than estimates not considering the extraordinary items.
In detail, in the three months to December, the New York banking giant recorded profits of 9,307 billion dollars, 3,04 dollars per share, compared to 11 billion, 3,57 dollars per share, in the same period of the previous year. Excluding the extraordinary voices, earnings per share were $3,97, versus analysts' average estimates of $3,36.
On the rise i revenue report, rose by 12% to 38,574 billion, while managed ones grew by 12% to 39,943 billion. For the full year, net profit rose 32% to $49,552 billion, while total revenue grew 23% to $158,104 billion.
“We closed a solid quarter” and “the record results for 2023 reflect over-earning on both interest margin and credit. We remain confident in our ability to continue to generate very strong returns even after prices normalize,” he said Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon.
“The American economy continues to be resilient – continued Dimon – consumers continue to spend and markets expect a soft landing. It is important to note that the economy is supported by large public deficit spending and by the stimuli enacted in the past." Furthermore, “inflation could be more persistent and rates higher than the market expects,” he said, explaining that for all these reasons “we need to remain cautious,” especially since “conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have the potential to cause turbulence in energy and food markets, military and economic relations, and the human cost.”
BlackRock's quarterly
BlackRock (+0,16%) closed the fourth quarter and the entire 2023 with profits on the rise and assets managed (AuM) which have exceeded the threshold of 10.000 billion dollars (+16% to 10.008,9 billion).
The company also announced, separately, that it had taken over private equity Global Infrastructure Partners for approximately 12,5 billion in cash and shares.
Speaking of the accounts, the fourth quarter ended with a net profit of 1,375 billion dollars, up 9% compared to the 1,259 billion in the same period of the previous year. Adjusted earnings stood at 1,451 billion, $9,15 per share, up 7% compared to 1,356 billion, $8,29 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2022. Quarterly revenues they rose by 7% to 4,631 billion. As regards the whole of 2023, net profit grew by 6% to 5,502 billion and adjusted profit by 6% to 5,692 billion, while revenues remained essentially unchanged at 17,859 billion.
BlackRock delivered “differentiated organic growth and operating margin amid historically challenging market and industry conditions in 2022 and 2023. As we have seen previously, when investors have been ready to put money back into the market, they have done so with BlackRock,” CEO Laurence Fink said.
Bank of America's quarterly
Fourth quarter in the red for Bank of America (+1,23%). From October to December, the US giant recorded a diluted earnings per share of $0,35, and a net profit of $3,1 billion. Numbers more than halved compared to the same period a year ago, when net income was $7,1 billion and diluted EPS was $0,85.
Down too the revenues, dropped by 10% to 22 billion dollars. The results of the US bank are lower than expectations, which were for an EPS of 0,63 dollars and revenues of 23,7 billion dollars.
For the whole of 2023, Bank of America reported revenue growth to $98,6 billion from $94,95 billion in 2022. 2023 diluted EPS was $3,08, down from $3,19 a year ago, with net profit amounted to 26,5 billion dollars, down from 27,5 billion in 2022.
“We reported solid results in the fourth quarter and full year as all of our businesses achieved strong organic growth. There was good loan demand and deposit growth in the quarter and full-year net profit of $26,5 billion. Our expense discipline has allowed us to continue investing in growth initiatives. The high levels of capital and liquidity position us well to continue to deliver responsible growth in 2024,” he commented Brian Moynihan, president and CEO of Bank of America.
Citigroup's quarterly
The fourth quarter of 2023 was the worst in 15 years for Citigroup (+2,37% in New York), which together with the accounts also announced the cuts of 20.000 jobs in the medium term.
In the three months to December, the New York bank reported a “red” of 1,839 billion dollars, -1,16 dollars per share, compared to the profit of 2,51 billion, 1,16 dollars per share, in the same period of 2022. Revenues fell by 3% to 17,44 billion. Excluding extraordinary items, adjusted earnings were $0,84 per share. Analysts on average expected profits of $0,79 and a turnover of 18,75 billion.
Throughout the year, net profit dropped by 38% to 9,228 billion, while turnover rose by 4% to 78,46 billion. “Although the fourth quarter was very disappointing due to the impact of a number of factors, we have made significant progress in 2023 in simplifying the group and executing the strategy,” he said CEO Jane Fraser, underlining that "considering the path we have taken on the path of simplification and disinvestments, 2024 will be a turning point year" and "we remain confident in our ability to adapt to an evolving context to achieve our medium-term targets and return capital to shareholders, while continuing with the investments necessary for the transformation."
