US Banks Q4/2025: Divergence in Growth

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Q4/2025 Closed on Wall Street in a Familiar Yet Strange State:

• Profits Remain High

• Markets Stay Vibrant

• But Behind the Strong Numbers Lies an Increasingly Unpredictable Macro Environment

After the 'Uniform Revival' of the First Half, US Banks Entered the Final Quarter with Clear Divergence.

• Dealmaking Returned, but Not with Broad-Based Boom.

• Trading Benefited from Volatility, While Consumer Banking and Credit Cards Faced Policy Pressures.

Volatility Became a Double-Edged Sword. Tariffs, Geopolitics, and Reversing Rate Expectations Stalled Advisory Activity, but Delivered One of Wall Street's Most Active Trading Quarters on Record.

Pressures Weren't Just from Markets.

In Q4, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Suddenly Launched a Criminal Probe Targeting Fed Chair Jerome Powell

• Financial Circles Widely View This as a Pretext to Pressure the Fed into More Aggressive Rate Cuts.

Adding to This, the 'Trump Trade'-Once Hailed as a Tailwind for Finance-Is Evolving into a More Complicated Phase: Fed Tensions, Risks of Credit Card Rate Intervention, and Proposals Targeting the Payments Ecosystem.

Thus, Q4/2025 Wasn't Just a Wrap-Up Quarter, but a Litmus Test for Big Banks' Business Models and Adaptability Heading into 2026.

In This Week's Article, Viet Hustler Reviews the US Banking Sector Panorama for Q4/2025 and Valuations of the Top 5 Stocks:

1. US Banking Sector Panorama Q4/2025

2. JPMorgan Chase – The Cost of Apple Card

3. Bank of America – Equities Trading as Key Driver

4. Wells Fargo – Acceleration Post-Restructuring

5. Morgan Stanley – Well-Rounded Growth

6. Goldman Sachs – Record Trading, Exits Apple Card

7. Citigroup – Restructuring Takes Shape