Wall Street just delivered its best investment banking quarter in years. The second quarter of 2026 saw a surge in profits driven by a trading frenzy tied to AI-related deals.
Goldman Sachs led the charge with $3.4 billion in investment banking fees, smashing records and rising 55% year over year. JPMorgan wasn’t far behind at $3.3 billion, marking its highest fees since 2021 and posting a 30% increase. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America also posted substantial gains, with fees rising 58% to $2.44 billion and 50% to $2.14 billion, respectively. Even Citigroup, which switched from fee reporting to revenue reporting, saw fees climb 44% to $1.55 billion.
The combined net income for the five biggest US banks hit roughly $49 billion, a 39% jump year on year. Goldman Sachs alone reported revenue of $20.3 billion, up 39%, while JPMorgan posted $58 billion, a 27% rise. These numbers shattered previous records and confirmed a hot streak few expected to sustain.
Equity underwriting at Goldman soared 130% to $985 million, while debt underwriting jumped 75% to $1.03 billion. JPMorgan’s equity trading revenue surged 86% to $6 billion, and Goldman’s rose 72% to $7.42 billion. Bank of America’s equity trading revenue also climbed 70% to $3.6 billion. Deals like SpaceX’s IPO and Alphabet’s $90 billion equity issuance fueled this activity, with Goldman Sachs serving as lead advisor on both.
Goldman’s CEO David Solomon called the moment an “AI CapEx super cycle.” He said, “We are in the middle of an AI CapEx super cycle where there are demands on financing into every single financing instrument, in every region of the world and across every single industry.” Solomon also noted the investment pipeline hit its highest level in five years, signaling no slowdown yet.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon echoed the sentiment, pointing to AI-driven capital investment and fiscal stimulus as major drivers. “It’s getting close to as good as it gets. We just don’t know how long it’s going to last,” Dimon said. His CFO, Jeremy Barnum, described the pipeline as “quite robust” but expressed caution about some deals falling through due to power supply and tenant concerns.
Morgan Stanley’s Ted Pick admitted uncertainty around the cycle’s duration, calling it “really early” and noting “the known unknown element of this.” Bank of America’s Soofian Zubieri and CEO Jane Fraser highlighted the AI impact across tech, data centers, energy, and defense sectors, all accelerating capital expenditure.
This quarter’s record profits and deal flow suggest AI investment is reshaping Wall Street’s landscape. The frenzy around AI isn’t just hype—it’s fueling tangible, massive financial activity. Whether the cycle endures remains to be seen, but for now, the banks are riding the wave hard and cashing in big.
Based on
- Wall Street just had its best investment banking quarter in years, and it is calling AI a super cycle — thenextweb.com
- Wall Street banks reap windfall from stock and debt sales — axios.com
- Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are emerging as AI winners — cnbc.com
- Banks Had a Blockbuster Quarter, but CEOs Said It’s Not the New Normal – Business Insider — businessinsider.com
- US banks smash profit records after trading frenzy | Semafor — semafor.com
