Why Big Banks Made Less From Bonds — and More From Stocks
Big US banks earned less from trading bonds in the third quarter of 2026. Swings in interest rates made many investors pause.
Four large banks reported lower-than-expected bond-trading revenue after a turbulent stretch for bonds, in earnings in the week of Oct. 13, 2026 Wall Street Journal. This is client trading, where the bank buys and sells for customers for a fee. The weak spots were government bonds and credit. Trading came and went. Customers took less risk.
Morgan Stanley said revenue from bonds, currencies and commodities, called FICC, was down 7% from a year earlier Reuters. FICC is a short name for those markets, in plain trades and in contracts tied to prices.
Bank of America said sales and trading revenue was $5.1 billion, down 5% from a year earlier Reuters. Weak bond trading came with record stock-trading revenue.
Goldman Sachs also saw bond-trading revenue fall short of expectations. It had been expected to lead rivals in stock trading for the quarter Bloomberg.
JPMorgan was the partial exception. Its markets revenue rose 15% from a year earlier Reuters. Stock-trading revenue jumped 49%. Stocks drove the rise.
Across the group, stock desks beat bond desks Bloomberg. Big banks were expected to make almost $19 billion together from stock trading Bloomberg. Over the first nine months, stock units at five big banks were on track for over $66 billion Bloomberg.
JPMorgan also raised its yearly interest income outlook in October 2026 to about $106.2 billion with markets and $97.2 billion without markets Reuters. That income is the gap between loan earnings and deposit costs. The second number shows basic lending more clearly.
The big banks had just come off one of their most profitable six-month runs in at least ten years Yahoo Finance.
The broader context here is simple. Think of a bond desk like a shop. When prices swing a lot, shoppers stay home and fewer sales happen, even if the shop charges a bit more per sale. Stocks stayed busier because investors kept adjusting holdings.
Looking at what this means for your money, strong stock trading and loan income made up for weak bond trading, especially at JPMorgan and Bank of America. Bond trading often picks up when rates calm down and new bonds are sold. If swings last, bond desks must rely on choppy markets rather than steady customer flow. For now, the issue was fewer trades, not big losses.
