JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is gearing up to report fourth-quarter earnings on January 13, and at least one analyst thinks the market is sleeping on what the bank has become.
BofA Securities analyst Ebrahim H. Poonawala lifted his price target to $362 from $350 while sticking with a Buy rating. His argument? JPMorgan's stock doesn't fully capture what the bank brings to the table: market-leading technology, robust profitability hovering around 20% return on tangible common equity, and a capital cushion exceeding 300 basis points in CET1 ratio. That combination drives growth, expands the client base, and creates a competitive moat that's tough to replicate.
Poonawala points out that CEO Jamie Dimon's leadership, coupled with structural shifts in banking regulation, has put JPMorgan in a stronger competitive position than at any point since the 2004 Bank One merger. That's two decades of momentum building to this moment.
What to Expect in 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, the analyst projects $95 billion in core net interest income, excluding $6 billion from markets NII, with total revenue climbing 6%. He anticipates temporary negative operating leverage as management keeps pouring money into franchise investments. JPMorgan has a history of conservative NII guidance, and Poonawala expects that pattern to continue unless rate cuts come faster than expected.
He tweaked his FY26 earnings estimate slightly to $21.60 per share from $21.62, while bumping up his fourth-quarter EPS forecast to $4.97 from $4.87. The adjustment reflects modestly weaker investment banking revenue—expected up low-single-digits year-over-year—balanced by strong trading performance that should jump by low-teens percentages.
Blockchain Push Continues
On Wednesday, JPMorgan took another step into blockchain territory by launching JPM Coin on the Canton Network. This marks the deposit token's second appearance on a permissionless blockchain, following its November 2025 debut on Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN)'s Base network. The bank continues positioning itself as a technology leader in institutional finance.
JPMorgan shares were trading down 2.30% at $326.91 on Wednesday, still hovering near the stock's 52-week high of $337.25.