Bank Earnings Week: JPM, GS, UNH, JNJ, BAC, MS Preview

Six big reports in two days

Earnings season starts for real this week. JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group and Goldman Sachs are all scheduled to report before the market open on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley following before the open on Wednesday, October 14.

Stocks go in near the highs. As of the close on Friday, October 9, 2026, the S&P 500 sat at 7,811.54, up 1.15% for the week, per Chart Equity's data. Reuters reported on October 9 that bank earnings and CPI headline a busy markets week with the index hovering near records. FactSet Insight's October 9 headline said the S&P 500 is likely to report earnings growth above 35% for Q3.

One thing up front. Consensus EPS figures for the coming quarter aren't posted in Chart Equity's earnings feed yet, so the cleanest bars are the year-ago quarter and the size of each company's last beat. These dates can still move until each company confirms them.

Company	Ticker	Scheduled date	Year-ago EPS	Last quarter: actual vs estimate
JPMorgan Chase	JPM	Tue, Oct 13	$5.07	$7.59 vs $5.59
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	Tue, Oct 13	$2.80	$2.90 vs $2.84
UnitedHealth Group	UNH	Tue, Oct 13	$2.92	$6.38 vs $4.91
Goldman Sachs	GS	Tue, Oct 13	$12.25	$20.98 vs $14.47
Bank of America	BAC	Wed, Oct 14	$1.06	$1.21 vs $1.13
Morgan Stanley	MS	Wed, Oct 14	$2.80	$3.46 vs $2.89

In the valuation comparison below, look at the split: the four financials sit in a tight band, while the two healthcare names carry clearly higher multiples.

What does JPMorgan need to show on Tuesday?

JPMorgan needs to prove July wasn't a one-off. It reported $7.59 a share against a $5.59 consensus, a 35.8% beat, according to the company's quarterly results. The year-ago quarter came in at $5.07, so the annual comparison is easy. The July number is the one investors will actually measure against.

The bank and financial holding company's record isn't spotless. In January it missed, posting $4.63 against $4.85, so its beat streak is only two quarters. That miss is a reminder that this one can stumble, and it's worth keeping in mind before assuming another clean beat is coming this time around.

Shares closed at $332.99, the second-weakest 52-week move in this group. At 14.3x trailing earnings, it isn't priced for heroics.

Analysts are split: 13 rate it a Buy, 12 a Hold, none a Sell. The questions are whether EPS lands closer to July's high or last year's level, and whether the 50.4% trailing operating margin holds.

Can Goldman Sachs follow a 45% beat?

Goldman has beaten four quarters running, and July was the biggest: $20.98 a share against a $14.47 consensus, a 45.0% surprise. That's a huge gap between what analysts expected and what the bank actually delivered, and it sets a high bar heading into this report.

With the year-ago quarter at $12.25, even a real step down from July would still be a large year-over-year gain.

The path is the story here. EPS went from $12.25 in October 2025 to $14.01, then $17.55, then $20.98. Up every quarter.

That's where it gets interesting. Despite that run, only 8 analysts rate Goldman a Buy, against 16 Holds and 2 Sells. Either analysts think July's pace can't last, or they're behind the numbers. Tuesday goes a long way toward settling which.

The shares closed at $895.32, with the average target at $1078.10.

Is UnitedHealth's earnings rebound holding?

On the earnings line, yes. On the top line, not really. UnitedHealth reported $6.38 a share in July against a $4.91 consensus, a 29.9% beat, but revenue grew only 0.4% from a year earlier. The profit gain came from margins, not growth, and margins are what Tuesday tests.

The health care company operates through four segments: Optum Health, Optum Insight, Optum Rx and UnitedHealthcare. EPS went from $2.92 in October 2025 to $2.11 in January, then jumped to $7.23 in April before $6.38 in July. Four straight beats, but a choppy path.

A 7.1% trailing operating margin would look weak for a bank. For a healthcare plan operator, thin margins are normal, which is exactly why small shifts move EPS so much.

UNH trades at 24.4x trailing earnings but 16.8x forward, so investors are leaning on profits that haven't shown up in the trailing numbers yet. That gap tells you the market's betting on a recovery rather than paying for what the company's already earned.

Analysts are the most bullish in this group, with 22 Buys, yet the shares are up just 5.8% over 52 weeks.

If you want UnitedHealth's margin, debt and cash flow history in one place before Tuesday, run a free Stock Audit on UnitedHealth.

How much is already priced into Johnson & Johnson?

A lot. J&J closed at $261.44, up 37.0% over 52 weeks, the biggest move in this group, and it trades at 30.3x trailing earnings. Its beats are small and steady: four straight, none bigger than 2.1%. A stock priced like this needs that consistency to continue.

The healthcare company sells through two segments, Innovative Medicine and MedTech. In July it posted $2.90 against $2.84. Before that, the surprises were small, one of them 0.0%.

Here's the thing. J&J wins on reliability, backed by 6.6% revenue growth and a 29.2% operating margin. With the stock up that much, an in-line quarter may not carry the weight it would have a year ago, and investors will likely want something more than just another small beat.

Forward P/E is 21.5x, and the year-ago quarter was $2.80.

What do Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have to prove on Wednesday?

Both need to keep a clean record going. Bank of America has beaten four straight quarters, most recently $1.21 against $1.13, and Morgan Stanley has done the same, posting $3.46 against $2.89 in July. They also report a day after JPMorgan and Goldman, so Tuesday's results set the mood.

Bank of America

It's the cheapest stock here at 10.4x forward earnings. Revenue grew 16.8% last quarter, and 21 analysts rate it a Buy against 4 Holds. That combination of a low valuation, solid growth and broad analyst support makes it one of the more appealing setups in the group heading into earnings.

Shares closed at $54.32, and the year-ago quarter was $1.06.

Morgan Stanley

Revenue grew 28.0% last quarter and the trailing operating margin is 41.6%. Shares are up 22.5% over 52 weeks, second only to J&J in this group. Analysts are lukewarm, though, with more Holds than Buys, which is a surprising stance given how strong the underlying numbers look right now.

The year-ago bar is $2.80, a quarter when it beat by 33.3%.

What's next for these six stocks?

The next catalysts are the reports themselves: four scheduled before the open on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, and two before the open on Wednesday, October 14. Before each one, check three things: the year-ago EPS, the size of last quarter's beat and how far the shares have already run.

For JPMorgan and Goldman, July set the bar, and a smaller beat could still read as a step back. For UnitedHealth, watch whether EPS holds up with revenue growth near zero. For J&J, a 30.3x multiple leaves little room for a miss. Our guide to earnings per share and how to use it covers why the beat size matters more than the beat itself.

Our explainer on what the P/E ratio tells you helps make sense of the valuation gap between banks and healthcare names. The numbers either back each story on Tuesday and Wednesday or they don't.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an earnings surprise?

An earnings surprise is the gap between reported EPS and the consensus estimate, shown as a percentage of the estimate. When JPMorgan reported $4.63 against a $4.85 consensus in January 2026, that was a 4.5% negative surprise. A positive surprise isn't automatically good for the stock, because traders often expect a beat and price it in before the report.

How big are the six companies reporting this week?

Together they're worth about $2.79 trillion in market value. JPMorgan is the largest at $885.15 billion, followed by Johnson & Johnson at $630.04 billion. Goldman Sachs is the smallest of the six at $260.69 billion. Companies this size carry real weight in the S&P 500, so their reports can move more than just their own shares.

What's the difference between trailing and forward P/E?

Trailing P/E divides the share price by the last 12 months of earnings. Forward P/E uses expected earnings instead. Morgan Stanley trades at 15.1x trailing and 14.0x forward, a small gap, which means analysts expect modest earnings growth. When the gap is wide, the stock depends more on forecasts coming true, so a weak report hurts more.

Do these reports come out before or after the market opens?

All six are scheduled before the market open. That means the first reaction happens in the regular session the same day: Tuesday, October 13, 2026, for JPMorgan, J&J, UnitedHealth and Goldman, and Wednesday, October 14, for Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Calendar dates can still shift until each company confirms them.

Is a stock that beats every quarter a safer bet?

Not necessarily. A streak only tells you the company cleared analysts' estimates, and estimates can be set low. JPMorgan shows how streaks break both ways: it missed in January 2026, then beat by 35.8% in July. What usually matters more is how big the beat is compared with what's already priced into the stock.