5 Stocks To Watch This Week 10/12 – Big Banks Edition: JPM, WFC, BAC, GS, C

This week we’ll get an important read on the Financials sector as five of the country’s biggest banks report Q3 results.

Tuesday, October 13

Wednesday, October 14

Thursday, October 15

JPMorgan Chase (JPM)

JPMorgan Chase reports its FQ3 ’15 results before the opening bell on Tuesday. The Estimize EPS consensus is set at $1.45, 6 cents higher than Wall Street’s consensus. Revenue expectations of $24.2B also surpass the Street’s estimate of $23.9B. These numbers would put JPMorgan’s year-on-year (YoY) earnings and revenue growth at 4.3% and 1.1%, respectively. The company’s stock is down 1% year-to-date (YTD).

JPM was able to crush Q2 EPS  expectations last quarter, while still missing on the top-line. This quarter the bank is expected to benefit from an uptick in commercial loan growth as well as an increase in capital spending. While equity trading revenues were high due to the volatile markets in Q3, it may not be enough to offset fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) trading. JPMorgan also has to deal with a $136M fine issued on July 8th due to its deceptive debt collection tactics; selling credit card debt for accounts that were inaccurate, discharged in bankruptcy, or just not collectible. That impact will be reflected in Tuesday’s report.

Wells Fargo (WFC)

Wells Fargo reports on Wednesday morning when they release their FQ3 ’15 result. Estimize predicts an EPS figure of $1.06 and a revenue number of $21.73B. Wall Street analysts however, are looking for an EPS figure of $1.04 and forecast revenues of $21.58B.   

Weak demand for mortgages has restricted Wells Fargo’s revenue growth for a considerable amount of time. While mortgage applications slowly made a comeback in the first half of the year coming off a very low base, originations are expected to be low in Q3. The latest forecast from the Mortgage Bankers Association is calling for an 8% QoQ decline in home-loan originations, bad news for the country’s largest mortgage lender. However, an increase in commercial real estate lending could help boost the bottom-line.