JPMorgan Chase reported a 9% increase in profits during the last quarter of last year after accounting for seasonal variations, as the bank continues to benefit overall from the strength of the economy in both its retail and investment banking sectors.
The bank said in a statement Tuesday that profits for the last three months of last year amounted to $13.03 billion, or $4.63 per share, after excluding the impact of the Apple Card acquisition deal.
At the same time, the bank recorded a one-off loss of 60 cents per share as a result of JPMorgan Chase's acquisition of AppleCard's credit card portfolio from Goldman Sachs.
This is due to the bank adding $2.2 billion to its balance sheet as loan loss reserves to cover the risks of acquiring Apple Card, an amount the bank is effectively setting aside to cover potential losses.
Excluding loan loss reserves, the bank's earnings were $5.23 per share, while analysts had expected earnings of $4.85 per share, according to FactSet data. However, some analysts have not updated their forecasts following JPMorgan Chase's acquisition of Applecard last week.
In a statement, Jamie Dimon, the bank's CEO, expressed optimism about the overall state of the US economy.
He said that while labor markets have slowed, the situation does not appear to be deteriorating. Meanwhile, consumers continue to spend, and businesses generally remain in good shape. This could continue for some time, especially with ongoing fiscal stimulus, the benefits of deregulation, and the Federal Reserve's recent monetary policy.
The bank's quarterly revenues reached $45.8 billion, an increase of 7 percent over the last quarter of the previous year.
