J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) on Friday reported first-quarter earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line, although trading revenue growth remained light.
The bank reported earnings of $2.37 a share vs. an estimated $2.28 a share from a consensus of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue came in at $28.52 billion vs. an estimated $27.68 billion.
Investors were expecting strong results as the stock closed 2.5% higher Thursday and are up 6% for the year. Those shares retreated in price Friday morning by 17 cents to $113.15.
The S&P 500 is down 0.4% year to date.
The bank reported a 7% decline in investment banking revenues to $1.6 billion. Sales from fixed-income trading excluding items were unchanged.
Analysts in a StreetAccount survey had expected a nearly 3% increase to $4.34 billion in revenue from fixed income, currencies and commodities trading revenues.
Markets revenue overall excluding items rose 7%, helped by 25% growth in stock trading.
"2018 is off to a good start with our businesses performing well across the board, driving strong top-line growth and building on the momentum from last year," CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.
Dimon noted a 13% growth in client investment assets, and double-digit card sales and merchant processing volume.
The bank reported return on equity of 15% in the first quarter. Adjusted expenses were $16 billion.
The bank distributed $6.7 billion to shareholders in the first quarter, net of stock issued to employees.
