Stock of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM +0.17%) -- America's biggest bank both by revenue and by market cap -- is tumbling on Friday, down 5.8% through 11:05 a.m. ET despite the bank reporting big beats on both revenue and earnings for its first quarter of fiscal 2024.
Heading into the quarter, analysts had JPMorgan pegged for a $3.82-per-share profit on revenue of $38.5 billion. But then the bank reported profits of $4.63 per share (adjusted for one-time items; net earnings were $4.44), and revenue of $41.9 billion -- an earnings beat by any measure.
NYSE: JPM
Key Data Points
JPMorgan Q4 earnings highlights
CEO Jamie Dimon characterized his bank's results as "strong," noting the difference between adjusted and net earnings came from a $750 million "special assessment" by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to help insure against future losses.
Revenue rose 9% year over year, and (net) earnings were up 8%. About the only bad news is that bank depositors are starting to rebel at the ultra-low interest rates JPMorgan (still) pays on deposits, and shifting money out of JPMorgan savings accounts to higher-yielding investments. Long-term, this poses a threat to profits, as JPMorgan may have to raise the interest rates it pays, to win back deposits.
Otherwise, expenses grew a bit -- 13% sequentially -- but Dimon reassured investors that both the bank's credit costs and its net interest income (down 4% sequentially) are on a path to "normalization."
Is JPMorgan stock a buy?
Peering down that path, Dimon highlighted risks from high inflation, the potential for Federal Reserve "quantitative tightening," as well as multiple geopolitical risks. But overall, he described the market as "favorable," and said JPMorgan remains a "pillar of strength." Matching actions to words, the bank continues to buy back its own stock -- $2 billion in share repurchases in the first quarter.
At 12 times earnings, and paying a 2.4% dividend -- but expected to grow earnings only 4% annually over the next five years -- JPMorgan stock may not be the cheapest bank in the world. But it does look pretty pillar-y to me.
