JPMorgan Q3 net slips; shares lower in premarket by David Henry
(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co's
third-quarter earnings fell 4 percent as the European debt crisis pushed investment banking clients to the sidelines, but results were helped by an accounting gain the bank can take when markets are in turmoil.
Excluding that gain, JPMorgan's earnings dropped about 25 percent. Shares of the second-biggest U.S. bank fell 1.5 percent to $32.70 in premarket trading Thursday.
JPMorgan said earnings were $4.3 billion, or $1.02 per share, down from $4.4 billion, or $1.01 per share, in the same quarter last year. The bank's outstanding share count fell 3 percent because the company bought back stock.
"All things considered, we believe the firm's returns were reasonable given the current environment," Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in a statement.
The results were muddied by
adjustments for the market value of the bank's debt, which gave it
a $1.9 billion pre-tax gain. When the bank's debt weakens relative to U.S. Treasuries, it can record an accounting gain.
Wall Street analysts had estimated on average that the bank earned 91 cents a share. It was not clear if the bank's results were comparable with that estimate.
JPMorgan
bought back $4.4 billion of stock during the quarter.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are due to report third-quarter results
next week.JPMorgan's
investment banking fees were down 31 percent from a year earlier to $1 billion. Revenue from
stock and bond trading was down 14 percent, not counting the accounting gain from the weakening of the bank's debt.
Source: Reuters US Online Report Top News
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