Everyone at JPMorgan and Citi did well in Q1, except one group
Q1 2026 reporting season is underway. After Goldman Sachs yesterday came JPMorgan and Citi today, and the results are equally stellar – on the face of it, at least.
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On the investment banking side, JPMorgan performed well. A huge 82% increase in M&A revenue was the main driver, but the firm also posted a 46% increase in equity capital markets (ECM) revenue. Debt capital markets (DCM) revenue was down by 7%, however.
At Citi, banking revenue was generally up, although not as dramatically. M&A was up by just 19% on Q1 of 2025, ECM was up a more impressive 64%, and DCM was down around 6%. The bank did note that banking expenses were up by 20% on Q1 of last year, primarily due to “higher compensation… reflecting performance.”
The decline in DCM is rather concerning. According to Dealogic, global DCM volume increased 7% between Q1 of 2025 to Q1 of 2026, going from $2.77tn to $2.97tn. It's not a huge leap, but JP and Citi's performances were clearly below that.
It was both banks’ traders, however, that completely knocked it out of the park. Both JPMorgan’s FICC and equities traders performed well, up by 21% and 17% respectively. It was an all-time record quarter for JP’s traders overall.
The bank credited the increase in FICC revenue to strong client activity in commodities, credit, and currencies, among others. It also noted that revenues were lower in rates. Its equities results were credited to increased client activity in general.
At Citi, traders also performed well. FICC and equities trading revenue was up by 13% and 39%, respectively. The bank credited FICC performance primarily to spread products – its rates and currencies team lagged, like JP’s. The monster equities performance was put down to both cash and derivatives, as well as prime services.
Interestingly, despite traders outperforming bankers so significantly, Citi’s market team only allocated an 11% increase in expenses, credit to both higher “performance-related compensation” as well as a volume-related expenses and legal expenses.
Goldman Sachs’ Q1 results, which came out yesterday, were broadly similar. M&A Q1 revenue shot up up ahead of others, but the firm’s FICC team lagged rather awkwardly behind its peers. Headcount and compensation at Goldman and JP, the only two banks that have comparable metrics, was also up broadly in line.
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