JPMorgan's equities traders might get better bonuses than its bankers
Q4 reporting season for the big American banks has begun, as is tradition, with JPMorgan. The bank as a whole did decently – but within the corporate and investment bank (CIB), some businesses did not.
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It wasn’t all bad news. Sales & trading revenues across both equities and fixed income, currencies, and commodities were up for 2025 vs 2024, by 33% and 12% respectively. That was driven by a particularly strong fourth quarter, in which the equities team posted revenue 40% higher than the same period of 2024. Within equities, JPMorgan said prime broking revenues were particularly strong.
When bonuses at the bank are announced next week, JPMorgan's equities traders may therefore have something to celebrate. Compensation in the CIB rose by 6.3% overall across 2025, with the average pay per person going from $195k to $205k.
Bonuses are likely to be less buoyant for JPMorgan's investment bankers. JPMorgan's M&A, Equity Capital Markets (ECM) and Debt Capital Markets (DCM) revenues were all down in the fourth quarter – by 3%, 16%, and 2% respectively.
Although the fall in DCM was no doubt a disappointment, it was far from unexpected. Dealogic says JPMorgan worked on fewer DCM deals by value than other banks in 2025, even while the market as a whole increased in volume by 8%.
Similarly, JPMorgan’s full-year 2025 revenue was up just 2% on 2024, despite global issuances growing by over 20% (and JPMorgan’s market share also increasing, according to Dealogic). Quarter-on-quarter ECM revenue was down 16% in Q4 of 2025 compared to 2024.
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