The broker-dealer sector had a solid quarter of earnings performance in the second quarter of 2025 — with nine out of 11 firms reporting improved results from a year ago.
According to FactSet Research, 81% of S&P 500 companies that have posted their results for Q2’25 have had earnings per share that topped equity analysts’ estimates; the average earnings beat has been roughly 8.4%.
“Since June 30, positive EPS surprises reported by companies in the financials, communication services, information technology and consumer discretionary sectors have been the largest contributors to the increase in the overall earnings growth rate for the index over this period,” the research group said Friday.
The financial sector’s earnings growth rate for Q2 2025 was close to 13%, says FactSet. Some of the positive EPS surprises reported were from JPMorgan Chase ($5.24 vs. $4.48), Wells Fargo ($1.60 vs. $1.41) and Citigroup ($1.96 vs. $1.66).
At the sector level, three sectors are reporting a year-over-year increase in their net profit margins in Q2’25 compared to Q2’24: communication services (15.4% vs. 11.6%), information technology (25.4% vs. 24.0%) and financials (20.0% vs. 18.8%).
“Morgan Stanley delivered another strong quarter," Ted Pick, Morgan Stanley's chair and CEO, said when the firm announced results in mid-July. "Wealth [management] continues to deliver, adding $59 billion of net new assets and $43 billion of fee-based flows. Total client assets across Wealth and Investment Management reached $8.2 trillion."
Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo will kick of the next quarter's earnings season Oct. 14.
See the accompanying gallery for a ranking of the 11 reporting broker-dealers in the quarter.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.