Bank of America Posts Mixed Q2 Results as Revenue Falls Short Despite Strong Trading Gains

Bank of America posted results for the second quarter Wednesday. Overall performance looks profitable but mixed.

Q2 profit rose 3% to $7.12 billion, or 89 cents per share, beating analyst expectations of 86 cents. Revenue grew 4% to $26.61 billion, but missed expectations ($26.72B), making BofA the only major US bank to miss on revenue this quarter.

NII — the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits — rose 7% to $14.7 billion, but fell short of estimates by $70 million.

CEO Brian Moynihan highlighted this as the fourth straight quarter of NII growth, driven by loan and deposit increases, despite lower interest rates compared to a year ago.

Fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) trading revenue jumped 19% to $3.25 billion, topping analyst expectations. Equities trading rose nearly 10% to $2.13 billion, just slightly below estimates. The volatile global markets, partly due to Trump’s tariff policies, helped fuel trading activity across Wall Street — BofA included.

Investment banking fees fell 9% to $1.4 billion, still better than expected ($1.27B). M&A advisory fees dropped 11%, Equity issuance revenue – 8.1%, and Debt issuance revenue slipped 4.9%

Executives noted May and June showed improvement after a slow April, hinting at a rebound in the second half of 2025.

Loan balances rose 8.5% year-over-year to $1.15 trillion, surpassing expectations. Consumers remained financially healthy, with strong spending and stable credit quality. Operating expenses rose 5.4%, slightly below the 5.5% increase analysts expected — a sign that inflation and cost control remain in focus.

Shares rose 1.5% in early trading, but are up just 4.6% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 Financials Index (+19%). BofA maintained 2025 guidance for NII: $15.5–$15.7 billion.

CEO Moynihan remains optimistic, pointing to resilient consumers, commercial loan growth, and positive momentum in markets.

“Consumers remained resilient, with healthy spending and asset quality, and commercial borrower utilization rates rose,” Moynihan said in the earnings release. “In addition, we saw good momentum in our markets businesses.”

JPMorgan, Citi, and Wells Fargo all beat expectations on both profit and revenue.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, reporting later the same day, also posted strong results driven by trading strength.While BofA lags slightly in revenue, its trading performance and loan growth show signs of solid underlying fundamentals.

With input from Bloomberg and CNBC.