Wall Street's biggest banks delivered a mixed set of third quarter results this week. JPMorgan Chase missed on both revenue and earnings for the first time in nearly three years, weighed down by rising expenses and weaker than expected fixed income trading. Goldman Sachs went the other way, beating estimates on revenue and earnings per share as its equities business surged 72%, and both Morgan Stanley and Citigroup also topped Wall Street's expectations. Bank of America reported a decline in third quarter profit, while Wells Fargo missed on revenue for the third time in four quarters even as it beat on earnings.
The results came alongside pointed commentary on the state of the IPO market, which has cooled in recent weeks after offerings from companies including Oura, Bamboo Insurance, and Holtec Nuclear were postponed. JPMorgan's chief financial officer, Jeremy Barnum, told analysts those delays looked "delayed rather than cancelled," calling the bank's pipeline "very, very strong" and saying the underlying conditions for new deals remain supportive. Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon offered a similar read, saying the IPO market was wide open for much of the year but acknowledging that some companies pulled back in September after finding investors willing to pay only 10% to 15% less than sellers had expected.