NEW YORK -- JPMorgan Chase reported first-quarter earnings that easily beat analysts' estimates Thursday, helped by a steady climb in interest rates from a year earlier as well as gains in investment banking.
The nation's largest bank by assets reported net income of $6.45 billion, or $1.65 per share, compared with net income of $5.52 billion, or $1.35 a share, from a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected the bank to earn $1.51 a share.
As analysts expected, JPMorgan's bottom line benefited directly from the Federal Reserve's push to raise interest rates over the past year. Net revenue on a managed basis was $25.59 billion compared with $24.08 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Interest income rose $12.39 billion compared with $11.67 billion a year ago. Wells Fargo and Citigroup, which also reported their quarterly results on Thursday, also reported higher interest income in the first quarter.
JPMorgan also reported solid loan growth in the quarter across both its consumer and business lending businesses.
"We are off to a good start for the year with all of our businesses performing well and building on their momentum from last year," JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said in a prepared statement.
JPMorgan's investment banking division also did well, reporting net income of $3.24 billion compared with $1.98 billion in the same period a year earlier. Investment banking revenue rose 34 percent from year earlier, while JPMorgan's trading division saw a 14 percent rise in revenue from a year earlier, helped especially by bond trading.
JPMorgan's stock fell $1, or 1.2 percent, to close Thursday at $84.40.
Citigroup reported a first-quarter profit that beat analysts' expectations. Like its competitors, Citi benefited from higher trading revenue and interest rates.
The New York-based bank said it earned $4.1 billion, or $1.35 a share, compared with $3.5 billion, or $1.10 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Analysts were looking for Citi to earn $1.23 a share, according to FactSet.
Citi had a strong quarter in its investment banking division, as well as consumer banking business, which helped build revenue across all its major business lines.
"The momentum we saw across many of our businesses toward the end of last year carried into the first quarter, resulting in significantly better overall performance than a year ago," said Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat in a statement.
In the company's investment banking division, its biggest business by revenue and profit, Citi reported net income of $3 billion, up 61 percent from a year ago. Fixed income trading revenue rose 19 percent from a year earlier, and stock trading revenue increased 10 percent.
However, Citi's consumer banking division saw a drop in profits. Net income fell to $1 billion from $1.19 billion a year earlier. While revenue was up, the bank had higher expenses mostly related to having to set aside more money to cover bad loans.
With the fewest U.S. branches of any large competitor, Citigroup is counting on its credit-card franchise to drive growth in North America. It issued more than 1 million new cards in six months last year after signing a partnership with Costco Wholesale Corp. to be the preferred lender to the warehouse club's shoppers.
Citigroup's stock fell 47 cents to close at $58.04.
Shares of Wells Fargo plunged in early trading on Thursday after the bank, still reeling from the aftermath of a scandal over bogus bank accounts, posted profits that were slightly below those of a year ago and revealed that new customers shunned the bank during March.
Wells Fargo earned nearly $5.46 billion for its quarter that ended in March, about $5 million below the more than $5.46 billion the banking giant posted in profits for the year-ago first quarter, the company reported.
Wells Fargo's first-quarter profits of $1 a share topped Wall Street's expectations of 96 cents a share.
The aftermath of the debacle over bogus checking and credit card accounts continues to loom over Wells Fargo, which is battling to burnish its scandal-scarred reputation. Bank employees opened up to 2.1 million accounts without the permission of customers.
"Clearly we have had a very difficult period in our history," Timothy Sloan, Wells Fargo's chief executive officer, told analysts during a conference call to discuss the results. "Rebuilding trust is our most important activity. Every day we are continuing to make progress."
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo generated $22 billion in revenue during the January-through-March period, down 0.9 percent from the year-ago first quarter. Analysts had predicted revenue of $22.4 billion.
Wells Fargo's stock fell $1.77, or 3.3 percent, to close at $51.35. Investors are selling in part because Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, the bank's largest shareholder, said late Wednesday that it would sell some of its stake for regulatory reasons.
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Sweet of The Associated Press, Dakin Campbell of Bloomberg News and George Avalos of The Mercury News.
Business on 04/14/2017