JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) announced its earnings for the first quarter of 2012 today before the market opened. The company showed earnings for the first part of the year at $1.31 per share beating the forecasts made by analysts which showed an expected earnings per share of around $1.15. Revenue in the company was also quite a bit better than the market had thought was coming. The bank reported that it took in $26.7 billion in revenue while projections had put that number at $24.4 billion. The company’s good run at the start of the new year will be a boon to the company’s investors and may be a good indicator of the direction the American economy is going this year.
Nobody will be unhappy as JPMorgan outperforms in its earnings, the company’s large spread throughout the economy means its performance can be used as some kind of proxy for the recovery in the whole US system. The banking system and investment returns offer an insight into the performance of other sectors of the economy as well. JPMorgan at least is after recovering from its poor end of 2011 though it does not compete with the elated times the company reported last year. Today’s numbers might reflect a return to more stable performance from now on.
Today’s results will quite possibly lead the markets to be more confident in JPMorgan’s future performance. The growing stability in the US economy will increase the banks lending gains and the S&P 500’s growth means that investment is a much less risky prospect for the bank. The huge rises in revenue are particularly satisfying for the company’s investors who will hope to see the trend continue throughout 2012. This could be the year when US financial institutions finally recover from the 2008 financial crisis.
