JPMorgan Chase reports 9% increase in Q1 2025 net income, surpassing Wall Street expectations

JPMorgan Chase reported a 9 per cent rise in its net income, reaching $14.6 billion for the first quarter of 2025, exceeding Wall Street forecasts on both profit and revenue.
Earnings per share increased to $5.07 from $4.44 a year earlier, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $4.63, according to FactSet. Managed revenue also surpassed projections of $44 billion, standing at $46 billion, up from $41.9 billion last year.
CEO Jamie Dimon credited a strong performance from the bank’s markets division for the solid quarter.
However, he also raised concerns over the ongoing trade tensions for both the bank and the economy.
Dimon warned of rising global uncertainties and added trade tensions to his list of potential negatives facing the bank and broader economy.
Trump’s unpredictable tariff hikes, currently up 10 per cent for most US trading partners and 145 per cent for China, triggered weeks of market turbulence, fuelling uncertainty over the direction of the global economy. Such instability poses a challenge for banks, which depend on steady markets and confident borrowers.
Despite the uncertainty, JPMorgan’s trading desk flourished in early 2025, boosted by market volatility that started even before the administration introduced its major “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2 April. The bank’s markets revenue jumped 21 per cent, while equities trading surged 48 per cent year-on-year. Consumer and community banking also saw a 4 per cent rise in revenue to $18.3 billion.
On China, which has retaliated with 125 per cent tariffs on US imports, JPMorgan executives said it was too early to predict any long-term impact. “We really have to see how things play out,” said CFO Jeremy Barnum. “In the near term, that business is performing fine and we are not seeing any effect.”
The bank set aside $3.3 billion for potential loan losses, up from $1.9 billion a year ago. It also repurchased $7 billion in common stock and increased its dividend by 12 per cent.
JPMorgan shares rose 2 per cent in morning trading. Broader Wall Street indices, however, remained mixed, avoiding the sharp swings seen in recent weeks.
Morgan Stanley also reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, driven by strong equities trading. The New York investment bank posted net income of $4.3 billion on record revenue of $17.7 billion. Its shares fell 1.6 per cent.