JPMorgan investors look for clarity on tariff impact, succession plan

Yahoo

15-05-2025

By Nupur Anand
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase investors will be keen to learn how the largest U.S. lender and the world's biggest economy are likely to be impacted by U.S. tariffs on its trading partners at the bank's investor day on Monday as economic uncertainty remains.
Financial markets have been volatile in the initial few months of the Trump administration as its move to increase tariffs on trading partners prompted some investors to move away from American assets. The White House has since made progress on tariff deals.
Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and his team will showcase bank's strategies, focus areas and provide insights on business and consumer sentiment on Monday at JPMorgan's investor day in New York.
Dimon had warned of "considerable turbulence" in the economy at a time when clients were becoming cautious and pulling back on deals.
Since a lot was still very unclear last month, the information void left investors feeling like there might still be risk to investment banking, lending outlooks and asset quality, Scott Siefers, analyst at Piper Sandler said in a report, adding that investors will look for more clarity.
While investors are not expecting a surprise succession announcement, they do expect that the company will showcase potential successors to Dimon.
"We expect all eyes to be on the next generation of leadership. CEO succession timing has historically been a question at this event," said Jason Goldberg, analyst at Barclays.
Dimon, 69, has run JPMorgan for more than 19 years, outlasting many other CEOs and had said at last investor day that the succession timeline was "not five years anymore."
Troy Rohrbaugh and Doug Petno, the co-CEOs of its commercial and investment bank, are candidates for the top job. Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking, and Mary Erdoes, CEO of asset and wealth management, are also in the running.
Lake is viewed as the frontrunner, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley, who added that clues on when Dimon may step down were possible on investor day.
Analysts don't expect any significant changes in its earnings outlook. The bank had revised its net interest income outlook in April.
While earnings from trading are expected to look strong due to market volatility, investment banking fees may see tepid growth at a time when deal activity had slowed down.
There are also concerns over how much the largest bank can continue to grow at a time when other banks seem more front-footed and willing to compete, said Mike Mayo, analyst at Wells Fargo, in a report.
"The chance that this 'Goliath of Goliaths' wins more and faster seems to increase. Helped by its ability to invest for growth but while still maintaining top-tier efficiency," Mayo added.
Investors will also be keen to hear how the bank deploys excess capital, including if it buys back more stock, and will also be eager to hear more about JPMorgan's use of artificial intelligence with the bank's $18 billion tech budget.