How Much In Securities Trading Revenues Did The Largest U.S. Investment Banks Generate In Q1?

The five largest U.S. investment banks churned out their best securities trading performance in five years to report combined revenues just shy of $24 billion for the first quarter of 2018. This compares with a figure of $21.4 billion a year ago (a 12% jump year-on-year), and is substantially higher than the average combined securities trading revenues of $18.2 billion over the last 18 quarters. While the first quarter of the year is a seasonally strong period due to elevated trading activity across equity as well as debt capital markets, the figures for Q1 2018 gained in particular from an increase in market volatility from the unusually low levels seen since mid-2017.

We capture the trends in securities trading revenues for each of these investment banks over recent years in detail as a part of our interactive model. We highlight key observations related to their trading revenues below.

The table below details the trend in total securities trading revenues (equity as well as fixed-income) for each of these banks in the last five quarters. The green-to-yellow shading along a column highlights the relative performance of each bank in any given quarter. JPMorgan’s dominance in the securities trading industry is evident here. Notably, the diversified banking giant’s average trading revenues over the last twelve quarters ($4.9 billion) was 28% ahead of the figure for its closest rival Citigroup ($3.8 billion). While the average revenue figure for Goldman Sachs and Bank of America over this period was nearly identical at $3.35 billion, Morgan Stanley came in last with an average figure of $3.2 billion.

JPMorgan has ranked #1 in every quarter since Q4 2010 (except for Q4 2012, when Goldman Sachs grabbed the top spot) primarily due to its strong presence in the global FICC (fixed-income, currencies and commodities) trading industry. The diversified banking giant ended Goldman’s strong grip over the industry before the economic downturn of 2008 as its trading desks swelled in size from its acquisition of Bear Stearns. This, coupled with the ban on proprietary trading activities under the Dodd-Frank Act, has pushed Goldman lower in the list as the investment bank made a significant chunk of its securities trading revenues from its proprietary trading desks.

Details about how changes to Securities Trading Fees affect the share price of these banks can be found in our interactive model for Goldman Sachs | Morgan Stanley | JPMorgan Chase | Bank of America | Citigroup

Additionally, you can understand the impact of  Investment Banking Fees on the share price of these banks in our interactive model for Goldman Sachs | JPMorgan | Morgan Stanley | Bank of America | Citigroup

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