Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) Q4 2024 profits more than doubled, cementing Wall Street’s comeback and dealmakers thinking about the coming Trump era in 2025 I’m optimistic.
Strong performance in investment banking and trading also contributed to the fourth quarter at other large banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC). contributed to boosting profits.
The six largest U.S. banks that have reported earnings so far this week have combined for more than $36 billion in fourth-quarter profits, bringing the total for 2024 to $145.7 billion.
The fourth-quarter target is more than double the company’s overall profit for the fourth quarter of 2023, with annual profit up 19%.
“We ended 2024 with a strong fourth quarter,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Thursday. I believe it will be very successful.”
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick on Thursday praised the company’s “excellent fourth quarter” capping off “the strongest year in the company’s history.” This year also happened to be his first year as president.
Bank of America’s fourth-quarter profit was $6.7 billion, an increase of 111% from $3.1 billion in the same period last year. As a result, full-year profit increased to $27.1 billion.
Morgan Stanley earned $3.7 billion in the final quarter of last year, an increase of 145%. Full-year profit was $13.4 billion, up 47% from 2023.
The banks indicated their two-year deal drought will end in 2024, with trading surging amid heightened volatility surrounding the U.S. presidential election.
Bank of America’s investment banking fees rose 44%, and sales and trading revenue rose 13% to $4.1 billion. Record-setting full-year sales and trading revenue. Morgan Stanley’s investment banking revenue rose 25% to $1.64 billion.
This week’s results for all the big banks show that JPMorgan still outperforms the rest. In the final quarter of 2024, it earned $14 billion, making it the biggest annual profit ever.
Full-year profits rose to $58 billion, an all-time record for JPMorgan and the highest in U.S. bank history. That was more than double the revenue of its next closest rival, Bank of America.
JPMorgan’s fourth quarter profit also increased by 50% compared to the same period last year.
An even bigger tailwind was for Goldman, whose fourth-quarter profit rose 105% to $4.1 billion and its full-year profit rose 68% to $14.2 billion. Investment banking fees rose 24% in the fourth quarter.
the story continues
