JPMorgan Chase 1Q Profit Falls 7%, But Tops Expectations

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced, in a statement, that its net income fell 7% YOY to $5.52 billion from $5.91 billion in the year-ago quarter. Its EPS also fell 7% to $1.35 a share from $1.45 a share in the comparable period. According to Yahoo Finance page, analysts expected the company to deliver earnings of $1.26 a share. Following the news, shares were trading higher in the pre-market.JPMorgan Chase said that its net revenue also dipped 3% to $24.08 billion from $24.82 billion in the previous year quarter, which was better than $23.4 billion estimated by the Street analysts. The company's provision for credit losses jumped 90% to $1.82 billion from $959 million. Commenting on the results, the company's Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, said "We delivered solid results this quarter with strong underlying drivers. The consumer businesses continue to grow loans and deposits impressively, attracting deposits faster than the industry. The U.S. consumer remains healthy and consumer credit trends are favorable."The CEO continued to say that "While challenging markets impacted the industry, we maintained our leadership positions and market share in the Corporate & Investment Bank and Asset Management, reflecting the strength of our platform. Even in a challenging environment, clients continue to turn to us in the global markets and we saw positive net long-term asset flows in Asset Management." JPMorgan Chase's Dimon concluded by saying that "We are one of the most trusted financial institutions in the world, delivering consistently for our clients, communities and shareholders. We plan to increase capital return in the first half of 2016 as the board approved an incremental $1.9 billion in share buybacks. As we build for the future, we are continuously innovating and investing to succeed. We are strengthening the Firm to withstand any environment and to maintain scale and profitability through the cycle."