Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC) announced second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.63 a share Monday morning, a 43% jump from last year. Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $0.57.
Here are the key numbers:
- Revenue: $22.6 billion, down from Q2 2017 revenue of $22.8 billion, which included a $793 million pretax gain on the sale of the bank's non-US consumer card business.
- Net income: $6.8 billion, up 33% from 2017.
- Net interest income: Increased $664 million, or 6%, to $11.7 billion, thanks to higher interest rates, as well as loan and deposit growth.
- Global wealth and investment management: Net income increased to $968 million, up 20%. Record client balances of nearly $2.8 trillion.
- Credit card charge-offs rise: Net charge-offs increased $105 million to $896 million.
- Investment banking fees down: Firmwide investment banking fees decreased 7% to $1.4 billion.
- Global markets: Net income increased to $1.1 billion, up 34%. Sales and trading revenue jumped 6% to $3.4 billion.
- Record first-half net income: $13.7 billion in profits in the first half of the year.
“Solid operating leverage and client activity drove earnings higher this quarter. Responsible growth continued to deliver as a driver for every area of the company," CEO Brian Moynihan said.
Bank of America's strong showing follows robust earnings results from peers Citigroup (NYSE:C) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), which announced record second-quarter net profits Friday.