Major US financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, are releasing their third-quarter earnings reports this week. Analysts note that the first half of the year was bolstered by activity related to SpaceX, while the outlook for the remainder of the year depends on upcoming market events.
Morgan Stanley, which served as a lead underwriter for SpaceX, reported $851 million in equity underwriting revenue for the second quarter, compared to $500 million in the same period last year. Additionally, the bank's wealth management division attracted $148 billion in net new assets, with over half of this inflow attributed to IPO-related activities.
Market attention is now shifting toward the potential initial public offering of Anthropic in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have secured lead roles for this listing, with JPMorgan also participating. Analysts suggest that a successful IPO could provide a significant boost to these banks' fee income.
Despite these expectations, global investment banking fees saw a 19% decline in the third quarter compared to the previous one, though they remain up 12% for the first nine months of the year. Concerns regarding AI-related revenue and potential delays in IPOs have introduced market volatility, impacting the share prices of major underwriters.
