Goldman Posts Near-Record Quarter as JPMorgan Stumbles on Fixed Income

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase reported opposite outcomes for the third quarter on October 13, laying bare how differently the two biggest names on Wall Street are positioned as fixed income trading cools and equity desks run hot.

Goldman's numbers were the story of the morning. According to Goldman Sachs' third-quarter earnings release, net revenues reached $18.68 billion, up 23% from a year earlier, and net earnings rose 29% to $5.29 billion. The per-share figure came in at $17.01, against a consensus of $13.09, a beat of roughly 32%. The engine was equities: according to Heygotrade News, equities net revenues hit $6.44 billion, up 72% year over year. Investment banking fees rose 21% to $3.22 billion.

JPMorgan's quarter read like a photo negative. The bank earned $15.3 billion, or $5.57 a share, versus the $5.93 analysts expected, according to Fortune, citing the Associated Press. Revenue on a managed basis came in at $50.9 billion against a roughly $51.2 billion forecast. According to Fortune, fixed income trading desks were the drag, slowing versus both the prior quarter and the year-ago period. The miss is notable by JPMorgan's own standards: as reported by Investing.com, it was the bank's first revenue miss in nine quarters.

The results split the tape. Goldman shares rose roughly 4.65% in premarket, per Investing.com data, while Wells Fargo fell close to 3% and Citigroup was little changed, according to CNBC's earnings live blog. JPMorgan edged up about 1% despite the miss, which likely tells you the market had already priced in some softness.

JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum, on the earnings call covered by CNBC, said the M&A pipeline remains "very, very strong" even as deal flow slowed from the second quarter. That's a standard-issue CFO line and deserves the usual skepticism: investment banking fees at JPMorgan rose 14% year over year but fell 8% from Q2, per the company's own release. The sequential drop matters more to a trader than the year-over-year growth.

On the expense side, Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf told analysts, according to CNBC, that head count continued to decline in Q3, down 2% from the prior period, 8% year over year, and 30% from its pandemic-era peak. Wells reported net income of $6.0 billion, or $1.87 a share, up 13% from a year ago, per Fortune. The top line, at $21.87 billion, missed the roughly $22.3 billion analyst estimate, per Investing.com.

Citigroup was the quieter beat of the group. As reported by CNBC, the bank's fixed income markets revenue came in at $4.4 billion, up 4% from last year, driven by spread products. Citi's overall EPS topped consensus by about 7%, according to Opening Bell Daily, making it the second-strongest beat of the morning behind Goldman.

The macro framing from bank executives tracked in broadly the same direction. According to Fortune, all four banks warned about the longer-term impact of higher interest rates and sticky inflation, even as third-quarter profits came in above year-ago levels across the board. Jamie Dimon, in language quoted by Quartz, flagged "large fiscal deficits, sticky inflation, elevated asset prices, rising interest rates" as forces still building beneath the surface.

The divergence between Goldman's trading windfall and JPMorgan's fixed income hangover tells you where the money moved in Q3. Equity volatility paid. Rate desks didn't. Banks that were overweight one got rewarded; banks overweight the other didn't. That's not guidance, it's the tape.

Sources cited:
- Goldman Sachs Q3 2026 earnings release (via Heygotrade News) (https://www.heygotrade.com/en/news/q3-bank-earnings-kick-off-season-goldman-jpmorgan-citi-bofa-12b-fine/)
- Fortune / Associated Press (https://fortune.com/2026/10/13/jpmorgan-goldman-sachs-citigroup-wells-fargo-interest-inflation/)
- Investing.com earnings analysis (https://www.investing.com/analysis/bank-earnings-q3-2026-goldman-30-beat-jpmorgan-misses-revenue-200689491)
- CNBC bank earnings live blog (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/13/bank-earnings-live-updates.html)
- Opening Bell Daily News (https://www.openingbelldailynews.com/p/bank-earnings-q3-2026-eps-vs-estimates-chart)
- Quartz (https://qz.com/jpmorgan-goldman-sachs-bank-earnings-third-quarter-101326)