Wall Street giants' trading businesses show a tale of two extremes: JPMorgan (JPM.US) expects Q3 results to soar, while Bank of America Corp (BAC.US) warns of a slowdown.

JPMorgan (JPM.US) expects third-quarter trading revenue and investment banking fees to grow, a sharp contrast to the warning issued earlier this week by Bank of America Corp (BAC.US). JPMorgan co-president Doug Petno said Tuesday that trading revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30 is expected to rise by the mid-to-high teens percentage range. He also said JPMorgan's investment banking fee revenue could rise by a similar magnitude. Just a day earlier at the same conference, Bank of America Corp CEO Brian Moynihan said third-quarter revenue would be "roughly flat" compared with the same period in 2025. Moynihan said the bank saw a pullback in financing activity, partly due to a slowdown in Asia prime brokerage balances. After Petno finished speaking, JPMorgan shares rose 1.3% to $354.50 at 3:35 p.m. New York time, erasing earlier losses. Wall Street's trading divisions have performed strongly this year, partly because rising political activity around GEO Group Inc has increased volatility in financial markets. For JPMorgan, strong trading gains helped the bank post a record profit in the second quarter. Petno said the bank still has a strong pipeline of investment banking deals. Earlier this month, JPMorgan global co-head of investment banking Dorothee Blessing said dealmaking looks on track for a record year. Wall Street has also benefited from large IPOs, including SpaceX's record listing earlier this year. AI company Anthropic PBC has been looking for underwriters for its highly anticipated IPO. Earlier, Bank of America Corp CEO Moynihan said trading revenue would be "roughly flat" compared with last year's third quarter, unexpectedly breaking the surge Wall Street saw in the first half. Moynihan said Monday that investment banking fee revenue is expected to be about $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. Analysts had expected those fees to be closer to $2 billion. After Moynihan's remarks, Bank of America Corp shares fell as much as 6% intraday Monday, the biggest intraday drop since April last year. The stock eventually closed down 5.1%, the worst performer among KBW Bank Index components. In an interview, Moynihan said that at Bank of America Corp, equity trading revenue has risen so far this quarter, while fixed income has declined and fluctuated within a range. He said this is expected to leave total trading revenue for the quarter flat. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a report that the pullback in financing activity was partly due to a slowdown in international and Asia prime brokerage balances. The Federal Reserve will meet later this week on its benchmark interest rate. Moynihan said the decision should help bring some stability. "Rates will eventually stabilize at some point, and I think that will help some trading activity," he said. "But on the debt financing side which is a big part of business activity the issue is that you need an interest rate structure that doesn't swing back and forth, so people can confidently commit to issuance." Wall Street traders are extending the strong performance seen at the start of the year, with Bank of America Corp's equity traders posting record revenue in the second quarter. Markets have remained volatile, with AI stocks selling off in July. More recently, chipmaker shares fell as AI executives suggested slowing their development. Moynihan said that despite this, this year is still likely to remain strong for Bank of America Corp's markets business. The bank's sales and trading team is aiming for its 17th consecutive quarter of growth. NII Growth As for the bank's dealmaking business, Moynihan said it is not as well positioned in those industries where M&A activity has been more active in recent months. But he said the pipeline remains strong, it just needs to be pushed through to completion. Wells Fargo & Company analyst Mike Mayo said in a report that Moynihan's comment that this is more about business mix than execution "extends the narrative that Bank of America Corp is underperforming peers in capital markets." Moynihan said Monday that he feels "very good" about the company's guidance for net interest income (NII, or what the bank earns from interest-bearing assets after deducting expenses). The company has said it expects NII growth in 2026 to be at the upper end of the 6% to 8% range.