JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs Q1 2026 Results: Fee Revenue Wins the Quarter
JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs posted Q1 2026 results driven by fee revenue, not lending. M&A fees jumped 89% at Goldman. What the numbers signal.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) both cleared Q1 2026 estimates last week, yet both stocks traded lower on the print. Goldman reported Monday, April 13, posting $17.55 EPS on $17.23 billion in net revenue, ahead of the $16.49 consensus. JPMorgan followed Tuesday, April 14, with $5.94 EPS on $50.54 billion in revenue, topping the $5.45 LSEG estimate. The common thread in both reports: investment banking and trading did the heavy lifting, while net interest income raised more questions than it answered.
Shares told the other side of the story. Goldman fell as much as 4% intraday on Monday despite record equities revenue. JPMorgan drifted down roughly 1% in early trading Tuesday after CEO Jamie Dimon trimmed the full-year net interest income guide from $104.5 billion to $103 billion. Markets rewarded the pipeline and flinched at the guide.
Q1 2026 Scorecard
| Metric | Goldman Sachs (Apr 13) | JPMorgan (Apr 14) |
|---|---|---|
| Actual EPS | $17.55 | $5.94 |
| EPS consensus | $16.49 | $5.45 |
| Revenue | $17.23B | $50.54B |
| Revenue consensus | $16.97B | $49.17B |
| Net income (YoY) | $5.63B, +19% | $16.49B, +13% |
| IB fees (YoY) | $2.84B, +48% | $2.88B, +28% |
| Key standout | Advisory fees +89% to $1.49B | Markets revenue record $11.6B |
| Stock reaction | Down as much as 4% | Down roughly 1% |
Consensus EPS beat math: Goldman delivered $1.06 above consensus, or 6.4% (calculated as ($17.55 - $16.49) / $16.49 x 100). JPMorgan beat by $0.49, or 9.0% (calculated as ($5.94 - $5.45) / $5.45 x 100). Those are wide margins for a sector that typically clusters within 2-3% of the Street.
JPMorgan Deep Dive
JPMorgan’s headline print was strong across every line. Net income of $16.5 billion rose 13% year over year. Net interest income came in at $25.5 billion, up 9%, benefiting from continued loan growth and deposit repricing lag. Markets revenue set a record at $11.6 billion, up 20%, with both equities and fixed income contributing. Investment banking fees of $2.88 billion grew 28% year over year, a pace that Dealogic data suggested outpaced every other global bank in the quarter.
Consumer & Community Banking held up. Segment net income of $5.0 billion was up 12% on revenue of $19.6 billion, up 7%. Card spending grew 9% across debit and credit. The share of balances more than 90 days past due dropped to 1.15% from 1.6% a year earlier. That is a credit quality improvement large enough to register in the provision line. Total provisions for credit losses came in at $2.5 billion, down from $3.3 billion in Q1 2025, with a net reserve release in the Consumer book driven by improvements in home prices.
The sticking point was guidance. Management cut the full-year 2026 NII target by $1.5 billion to $103 billion, attributing the revision entirely to the markets business while leaving the non-markets piece unchanged. That nuance matters. Markets-related NII is effectively a funding cost offset to trading revenue, so the guide cut reflects shifting business mix more than core spread compression. The market’s reaction suggested not every investor parsed it that way.
Dimon’s prepared commentary leaned cautious. He described the U.S. economy as resilient in Q1 but flagged “an increasingly complex set of risks such as geopolitical tensions and wars, energy price volatility, trade uncertainty, large global fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices”. That list is longer than the one he offered on the Q4 call, and the tone was notably more defensive.
Goldman Sachs Deep Dive
Goldman printed its second-highest quarterly net revenue in firm history at $17.23 billion. Net earnings of $5.63 billion were also the firm’s second-best ever, translating to a return on common equity of 19.8% on an annualized basis. By segment, Global Banking & Markets posted record quarterly revenue of $12.7 billion.
Investment banking carried the quarter. Total IB fees of $2.84 billion were up 48% year over year. The standout line was advisory, where revenue surged 89% to $1.49 billion. Equity underwriting contributed $535 million, up 45%, while debt underwriting added $811 million, up 8%. The advisory print broadly validated the Q1 narrative about a revived M&A cycle across tech, energy, and financial sponsors.
Equities trading posted its own record at $5.3 billion, reflecting elevated client activity and higher volumes across both cash and derivatives. Fixed income, currencies, and commodities went the other way. FICC revenue fell 10% to $4.01 billion, with the firm citing significantly lower revenues in interest rate products, mortgages, and credit. That is the quarter’s tale of two desks: client intermediation in equities ran hot while macro products cooled.
CEO David Solomon framed the quarter as strong “even as market conditions became more volatile”. He confirmed Goldman held the number-one global ranking in both announced and completed M&A transactions. On the call, Solomon flagged the Middle East conflict as a watchpoint, warning that a prolonged resolution could become a headwind for deal activity and inflation trends deeper into Q2 and Q3.
What the Numbers Mean
In our view, the quarter validated a thesis that has been building for several months: the bank business model is tilting back toward fee revenue, with lending economics compressed by a Fed still on hold. Goldman’s 89% advisory fee growth and JPMorgan’s 28% IB fee growth both sit well above what the consensus pipeline implied. That gap between announced and realized fee revenue is the story of Q1.
The divergence between headline beats and stock reactions tells a complementary story. We believe markets are paying for durable, recurring revenue and penalizing any softness in net interest margin guidance, even when the underlying mix is defensible. JPMorgan’s $1.5 billion NII trim was arguably a mix-driven recharacterization rather than a core earnings cut, and shares still traded lower. Goldman’s record equities print was partially offset by FICC softness, and shares still sold off. Investors appear to be grading on forward clarity, not trailing upside.
On credit, the data held up. JPMorgan’s reserve release in the Consumer book and the drop in past-due balances to 1.15% both point to a consumer that is still servicing its debts. That is consistent with recent credit card delinquency data from the major issuers. Positioning that benefits from healthy consumer credit, not stressed credit, looks better supported than it did at the start of the year.
Watchpoints Ahead
Three catalysts deserve attention over the next four weeks.
The remaining regional and super-regional bank prints later this month will test whether the fee-over-spread dynamic is a money-center phenomenon or sector-wide. Regional banks lack the IB and trading scale to offset NII pressure, so their guides will stress-test the sustainability question directly.
The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting lands in early May. March CPI at 3.3% argues against cuts, and any hawkish shift in the statement or dot plot would extend the current pattern of compressed deposit repricing. That is the macro variable that sets the NII ceiling for the rest of 2026.
The M&A pipeline Goldman flagged is the linchpin of the fee-revenue thesis. Announced deal volume does not always convert to completed fees. We will be watching deal closure rates and cross-border transaction data over the next two quarters to see whether the pipeline translates into printed revenue or slips under geopolitical pressure.
For a broader look at the earnings season halfway point and how the rest of the financials are trending, see our Q1 2026 earnings season halftime report.
Forward-Looking Statement Disclosure: This article contains forward-looking statements regarding expected NII, fee revenue trajectory, deal closure rates, and macroeconomic conditions. These statements reflect our views as of the publication date and are based on reported Q1 2026 results, management commentary, and publicly available analyst estimates. Actual results may differ materially due to changes in economic conditions, geopolitical developments, regulatory actions, or other factors. Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as predictions of future events.
Ferrante Capital LLC is a registered investment adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.
FC and its principals may hold positions in GS. This analysis is for educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.
Forward-looking statements reflect Ferrante Capital’s current analysis and involve assumptions and estimates. Actual results may differ materially. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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