The First Big Batch of US Profit Reports for the Summer Has Wall Street Mixed

The first big batch of summertime profit reports from US companies is making waves on Wall Street after topping analysts’ expectations, but many are canceling each other out. That’s leaving stock indexes relatively static and near their records on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent and edged a bit further from its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 5 points, or less than 0.1 percent, as of 10.45 am Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.1 percent lower. Those modest moves, though, masked some big swings happening underneath the market’s surface.

Goldman Sachs, for example, jumped more than 4 percent at the start of trading after the bank delivered a profit for July through September that blew past analysts’ expectations. But its stock quickly erased all of it and dipped to a modest loss before later returning to a gain of 1.2 percent .

Goldman Sachs benefited in the summer from strong growth for its business that offers loans to clients for trading stocks, among other things, even as CEO David Solomon said it’s dealing with a “complicated operating environment” created by lots of uncertainty. Expectations are high for profit growth among all kinds of US companies.

Analysts are forecasting overall growth of nearly 30 percent for companies in the S&P 500 during the summer from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they’re correct, it would be the third straight quarter of growth better than 25 percent. And companies need to hit those high numbers to justify the record-setting runs for their stock prices despite the many worries on Wall Street about high inflation, increased pressure from the bond market and the war with Iran.

UnitedHealth Group’s stock swung sharply even though it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The healthcare company also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026.

After rallying as much as 5.6 percent shortly after trading began, it erased all of it and dipped 0.3 percent. More firmly in the losing column was Wells Fargo, whose stock fell 1.9% after the bank reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Charlie Scharf cited weaker revenue from its venture capital investments, among other things.

But Scharf also said that “our data shows that our consumer and business customers are doing well” despite uncertainty about the economy and recent surveys showing how discouraged Americans are about their finances.

That could bode well for the broader economy and future profits for companies across industries.

At the country’s biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon highlighted “elevated asset prices” as one of the potential risks for the economy. He also mentioned high inflation, rising interest rates and “geopolitical conditions.” “These forces may be manageable, but we remain prepared for a wide range of outcomes,” he said.

JPMorgan Chase’s stock rose 0.6 percent after flipping between gains and losses in the morning. It reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but it also gave a forecast for net interest income in the current quarter that topped Wall Street’s estimate.

Outside of earnings reports, some of the sharpest action was for stocks in the computer chip industry.