Bank of America Smashes Expectations as Trading Boom Lifts Results

CNBC, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and Market Watch contributed to this report.

Bank of America came into the quarter with momentum – and left with numbers that turned heads.

The bank beat expectations across the board, posting earnings of $1.11 a share on revenue of $30.43 billion. That profit figure stands out for another reason: it’s the lender’s highest earnings per share in nearly 20 years.

Net income climbed 17% to $8.6 billion. Not bad for a period marked by geopolitical tension and jittery markets.

A big chunk of the upside came from trading desks. As global events rattled equities, volatility picked up – and that’s usually good news for banks that thrive on market swings. Equity trading revenue jumped 30% to $2.83 billion, helping deliver the strongest quarter in that business in 15 years.

CEO Brian Moynihan struck a steady tone. Consumers are still spending, he said, and overall credit quality looks stable. In his view, the core of the US economy is holding together.

Other parts of the business chipped in too. Investment banking brought in $1.8 billion, comfortably ahead of forecasts, while net interest income – the bread-and-butter of lending – rose 9% to $15.9 billion as loan balances grew and pricing adjusted.

There are a few signs of caution, but nothing flashing red. The bank set aside $1.3 billion for potential loan losses, actually lower than a year ago and below what analysts expected. Meanwhile, the share of loans going bad edged down slightly.

Fixed income trading didn’t keep pace with the rest, missing estimates and landing at about $3.5 billion in revenue. Still, it wasn’t enough to drag down the overall picture.

Under the hood, profitability improved. Return on tangible common equity hit 16%, a noticeable step up, while both consumer banking and wealth management posted strong gains in net income.

For now, the message from Bank of America is simple: markets may be volatile, but customers are still active – and the bank is finding ways to turn that into profit.