Earnings Season Kicks Off: The Big Banks

The fourth-quarter reporting season kicks off Monday with the latest results from Alcoa. Not far behind, the big banks begin to take their turns in the

spotlight. Consensus Wall Street forecasts call for strong bottom line results from

, and at least some year-on-year earnings growth from

and

. Below is a quick look at what is expected from these three reports, as well as a peek at some others.

In its report early Friday, this leading money center bank is expected to report that earnings per share (EPS) came to $1.20, according to 30 Estimize respondents. That would be a big jump from the $0.06 per share in the year-ago period. Note that EPS fell short of the Estimize forecast in the previous quarter. The Estimize consensus sees revenue totaling $18.02 billion for the fourth quarter. That is more optimistic than the fractional year-on-year rise to $17.87 billion predicted by Wall Street, which also sees full-year revenue down 2 percent to $75.70 billion, but EPS up more than 2 percent to $5.48.

The Wall Street forecast calls for Jamie Dimon and team to post fourth-quarter EPS of $1.29 and for revenue to have fallen more than 2 percent year-over-year to $23.03 billion. The analysts also believe full-year results will be $5.93 per share (up more than 10 percent) on $95.06 billion (down almost 3 percent). The 80 Estimize respondents see things a little differently: EPS of $1.37 and revenue of $23.33 billion for the three months that ended in December. But EPS handily topped the estimates in recent quarters. JPMorgan is set to post its latest financial results before regular trading commences on Thursday.

The consensus of 34 estimates from Estimize indicates that fourth-quarter results from this San Francisco-based bank will be $1.04 in EPS on revenue of $21.82 billion when it reports early Friday. That would compare to $1.02 per share and $21.44 billion in the year-ago period. The Wall Street analysts see marginally stronger growth for the full year on the top and bottom lines, to $86.45 billion and $4.15 per share, respectively. Their consensus EPS forecasts for both the quarter and the year have not changed in the past 60 days, and estimates matched results in the past two quarters.

Other, smaller banks reporting this week include PNC Financial (earnings decline forecast), Regions Financial (earnings growth) and U.S. Bancorp (earnings flat). Watch for upcoming earnings reports from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and many others. This week's other earnings highlights include reports from Alcoa and Intel, and year-over-year earnings declines are expected from both of them. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following

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