The five largest US banks reported blockbuster earnings on Tuesday, owing to geopolitical uncertainty and technological upheaval that caused a trading frenzy.
SpaceX’s historic IPO last month contributed to their collective $49 billion in profits, which shattered records. Market volatility often benefits trading divisions on Wall Street, but unlike in past bouts of turbulence, the IPO environment is also hot. “It’s getting close to as good as it gets. We just don’t know how long it’s going to last,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said.
The banks are also spending more; some of that money is going to new AI tools. JPMorgan cautioned against using “incredibly expensive” AI models, but noted that spending on tokens remains “trivial.”