JPMorgan Crushes Q3; But Is the Steady Eddy Stock Hitting A Wall?
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) has been one of the market’s most rock-solid performers in 2025. Year-to-date, shares have provided a total return of just over 30%. This has resulted in the stock producing strong and consistent gains after Liberation Day-related market volatility. Since April 14, shares have never gained more than 3% during a single trading session and have never dropped by more than 4%. With the stock seeing significantly more up days than down days in this period, shares have crept higher and higher.
On Oct. 14, JPMorgan helped get the Q3 earnings season rolling, releasing its latest financial results. So, what do JPMorgan’s earnings tell investors about the stock’s ability to keep chugging higher? Can JPM continue its brisk ascent, or does the stock face a more difficult road ahead?
JPM Crushes Expectations, But Markets Provide No Cigar
In Q3, JPM posted revenues of $46.4 billion, equating to nearly 9% growth. This beat estimates of just $44.4 billion, or a growth rate of over 4%. On the bottom line, JPM’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) reached $5.07, growing by 16% from the prior year. This walloped analyst estimates of just $4.83, or 10.5% growth.
Aside from these headline numbers, every part of JPMorgan’s business performed well. Net interest income (NII) continued climbing, rising by 2% to $24.1 billion despite lower interest rates. The company’s investment banking business saw strong fee growth of 16%. Fixed income and equity trading segments grew by 21% and 33%, respectively.
This allowed the company’s Markets segment to post its best third quarter ever, with revenue of $9 billion. Furthermore, its Asset & Wealth Management business achieved record revenue of $6.1 billion, growing by 12%.
There was nothing not to like about JPMorgan’s results. Despite stellar numbers, markets punished rather than rewarded the company. Shares closed down by approximately 2% after the release, signaling that although the company significantly outperformed Wall Street estimates, market expectations were higher.
This makes sense, considering the robust gains the stock has seen in 2025. Overall, this indicates that JPM’s impressive rally is running into a bit of a near-term wall.
Analysts Stick With Past Forecasts After JPM’s Results
JPMorgan’s earnings didn’t seem to sway opinions among Wall Street analysts much one way or the other. Royal Bank of Canada and Goldman Sachs both reiterated their price targets, which come in at $343 and $366, respectively.
Additionally, Morgan Stanley issued a relatively insignificant $2 price target increase, moving its forecasts to $338. While a lack of meaningful price target increases is not ideal, a lack of decreases is also a positive sign for this name.
JPMorgan has been a standout stock in 2025. Its 30% total return far exceeds gains seen in the general U.S. banking industry. The KBW Bank ETF (NASDAQ: KBWB), a commonly used barometer of bank stock performance, has returned just 19%. Considering JPMorgan’s strong outperformance, it is good to see that analysts are not indicating that the stock’s rally will reverse.
The MarketBeat consensus price target for JPMorgan sits near $319, implying only around 4% upside in shares. However, it is essential to note that analyst price targets are trending in the right direction. For instance, the average target among updates issued since the beginning of September is significantly higher at $341.
Furthermore, among the three analysts above who updated their price targets after JPM’s results, the average target is $349. That figure implies very solid upside potential in shares of approximately 14%. Such positive momentum proves that shares can continue their “steady-eddy” gains.
However, repeating the 30% rise seen over the past 10 months appears to be a somewhat unrealistic expectation.
JPM: A Long-Term Winner Facing Near-Term Valuation Resistance
All in all, JPMorgan remains arguably the most well-positioned bank in the United States. Its over $830 billion market capitalization shows its dominance. The figure is more than double that of its next largest competitor, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), with an approximately $380 billion market cap.
Despite indicators pointing to a slowdown in JPM’s rally, the stock remains one of the best ways to play the banking industry long-term.
It can continue growing its market share and benefit from the fact that the size of the economic pie keeps increasing in the long run.
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