JPMorgan Q3 Earnings Miss: $5.75 EPS vs $5.93 Expected

JP Morgan Chase & Co. released third-quarter results on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, before the market open, and earnings came up short: $5.75 per share against a consensus estimate of $5.93. That's a 3.0% miss, and it comes just one quarter after the bank beat estimates by 37.7%.

So the question this week isn't whether JPMorgan is still growing. It is. Revenue and profit both rose about 6% from a year ago. What matters is whether July's huge quarter set expectations too high, and what the step down from Q2 says about the quarters ahead. If you read our bank earnings week preview, this is the report that kicked it off.

How did JPMorgan's Q3 earnings compare with estimates?

JPMorgan earned $5.75 per share in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, against a $5.93 consensus, a 3.0% miss. On a GAAP basis, diluted EPS came in lower still, at $5.57, according to the company's quarterly results. That ends a two-quarter beat streak.

The pattern over the past year is choppy. Two big beats sit between two small misses:

Report date	EPS actual	Consensus	Surprise
January 13, 2026	$4.63	$4.85	-4.5%
April 14, 2026	$5.94	$5.47	+8.6%
July 14, 2026	$7.70	$5.59	+37.7%
October 13, 2026	$5.75	$5.93	-3.0%

Here's the thing. The consensus for this quarter was $5.93, well above the $5.59 analysts expected for Q2. July's blowout pulled the bar up, and the bank didn't quite clear it. A miss of 3.0% is small. It's also the second time this year estimates ran ahead of the actual number.

How did the stock react to the miss?

Barely. JPMorgan shares fell 0.9% on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the session of the report, from $334.30 at the October 12 close to $331.43. That's a $2.87 drop. For an earnings miss with the Yahoo Finance headline "JPMorgan profit misses analyst estimates as Jamie Dimon warns economic forces 'shift under the surface'", that's a shrug.

The bigger story is the past year. The stock is up 9.4% over that stretch while the S&P 500 gained 17.5% over the same period. As of the close on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, it sits 9.6% below its 52-week high of $366.50, so it's clearly lagged the broader market.

Its highest close came on August 12, 2026, at $365.18, and its lowest on March 27, 2026, at $282.84. Watch how the report-day dip fits into the rest of the week.

What changed versus a year ago?

Against Q3 FY2025, the quarter was solid. GAAP diluted EPS climbed from $5.07 to $5.57, about 9.9%, helped by a smaller share count, and revenue and net income both grew at a steady clip. The weakness only shows up next to Q2.

Revenue rose 6.0% to $76.19 billion, and net income rose 6.3% to $15.30 billion.

Metric	Q3 FY2025	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	$71.90B	$82.46B	$76.19B
Net income	$14.39B	$21.16B	$15.30B
Operating margin	26.1%	33.4%	26.4%
Diluted EPS (GAAP)	$5.07	$7.70	$5.57

Now look at where the drop came from. Revenue fell 7.6% from Q2 and operating margin slid seven points, back almost exactly to last year's level. So Q2 looks like the outlier, not Q3. The income statement doesn't break out what drove the swing, but the headlines point in a direction: Bloomberg ran "JPMorgan Posts Surprise Drop in Fixed-Income Trading Revenue," and Reuters reported "Wall Street banks see deals slow on market jitters but pipeline is strong."

The New York Times also ran "Rising Interest Rates Bite Some Wall St. Banks" on October 13. Taken together, the quarter reads as a normal one for JPMorgan after an unusually strong Q2. That's less alarming than "profit misses" makes it sound.

Is JPMorgan's longer-term earnings trend still intact?

Yes, based on the annual numbers. Diluted EPS went from $15.36 in FY2021 to $20.05 in FY2025, and trailing 12-month EPS is now $23.84. One soft quarter doesn't change that path, but FY2025 was a slow year, with revenue up just 3.3% and net income down 2.4%.

The year-by-year path matters. EPS dropped to $12.09 in FY2022, jumped to $16.23 in FY2023, reached $19.75 in FY2024, then barely moved in FY2025. Trailing EPS of $23.84 says 2026 has been a real rebound so far, Q3 included.

Part of the per-share gain is buybacks: diluted shares fell from 3.03 billion in FY2021 to 2.79 billion in FY2025, and the bank spent $34.59 billion repurchasing stock in FY2025 alone. Our guide to earnings per share explains why that matters. In the chart below, look for the FY2022 dip and the steady climb after it.

Don't misread the balance sheet

Debt-to-equity was 2.60 at the end of FY2025, and free cash flow was negative $147.78 billion. For a software company, either number would set off alarms. For a bank, borrowing is the raw material, and operating cash flow swings with lending and trading balances, so free cash flow isn't a useful scorecard here. Return on equity of 17.9% tells you more about how well that capital is working. Our debt-to-equity guide covers why banks run differently.

If you want the full picture in one place (valuation, profitability, balance sheet and momentum, all scored), you can run the free Stock Audit on JPM.

Is JPMorgan stock expensive after the miss?

Not by its own earnings. As of the close on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, JPMorgan trades at 13.9 times trailing earnings and 13.1 times the forward EPS estimate. With a market cap of $881.00 billion, that's a modest multiple for the biggest bank in the industry group, and it comes with a 1.99% dividend yield.

Analysts haven't turned negative. Per Chart Equity's data, the average analyst price target is $371.86, about 12.2% above the latest close. Thirteen rate it Buy or Strong Buy, 12 rate it Hold, and none rate it Sell. That's a fairly upbeat picture for a stock that's lagged.

Targets range from $305.00 to $420.00. Use the comparison below to see where that multiple sits next to other large caps. Our P/E ratio guide explains why bank multiples usually run lower.

What's next for JPMorgan?

JPMorgan hasn't confirmed its next earnings date yet, and the most recent ex-dividend date, October 6, 2026, has already passed. Until that next report, the useful numbers to track are operating margin, the gap between actual EPS and consensus, and whether trailing EPS keeps moving toward the $25.26 forward estimate.

Start with operating margin. If it holds near this quarter's 26.4%, Q2's 33.4% was the exception and estimates should settle around that. A move back up would make this quarter look like the blip. Next is the surprise pattern: two misses and two beats in a year means the consensus hasn't figured this bank out, so the size of the next surprise matters more than its direction.

Last is the multiple. At 13.1 times forward earnings, the price assumes the forward estimate holds. If the next report confirms the slowdown from Q2 hinted at by the trading and deal headlines, that's the first number to come under pressure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are there two EPS numbers for JPMorgan's Q3?

The $5.75 figure is the one analysts measure against their $5.93 consensus, and it usually excludes certain items. The $5.57 is GAAP diluted EPS, calculated under standard accounting rules on the full diluted share count. When you compare against estimates, use $5.75. When you compare against prior GAAP results, like the $5.07 from a year ago, use $5.57.

Does JPMorgan pay a dividend?

Yes. The stock yields 1.99% as of the close on October 13, 2026, and the most recent ex-dividend date was October 6, 2026. Total dividends paid grew from $12.86 billion in FY2021 to $16.63 billion in FY2025, while the bank also bought back $34.59 billion of stock in FY2025, so most of the cash returned to shareholders goes to buybacks.

How big is JPMorgan Chase?

JPMorgan has a market cap of $881.00 billion. It's a bank and financial holding company with three segments: Consumer & Community Banking, Commercial & Investment Bank, and Asset & Wealth Management. Institutions hold about 75.6% of the shares and insiders about 0.4%, so big funds do most of the trading in this stock.

Is JPMorgan stock volatile?

About as volatile as the market. Its five-year beta is 1.01, meaning it has historically moved roughly in line with the S&P 500. Short interest is just 0.9% of the float, so few traders are betting against it. Our guide to what beta measures explains how to read that number.

How much cash and debt does JPMorgan have?

As of the latest quarter, JPMorgan reported total cash of $1.88 trillion and total debt of $1.33 trillion. Both figures are huge because a bank's balance sheet is its product: deposits come in, loans and securities go out. Ratios like return on equity, at 17.9% trailing, tell you more about the business than raw debt does.