The Associated Press reports that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reported earnings that missed earnings expectations of 94 cents per share by 9%. And its 86 cents a share actual earnings disappointed investors. Nonetheless, the stock is up in pre-market trading.
The culprit was --once again -- consumer lending. JPMorgan Chase boosted its provisions for loan losses by $2.54 billion. That boost was higher than the $1.79 billion added during the third quarter and the $1.13 billion added in the year earlier period. The investment bank's profit plunged 88% to $124 million, and the card services' segment's profit fell 15% to $609 million. The company anticipates rising default and delinquency rates in credit cards.
A bit of good news for JPMorgan Chase. Commercial banking profit rose 13% to $288 million, Treasury and Security Services profit rose 65% to a record $422 million, Asset Management profit rose 29% to a record $527 million, and Retail Financial Services climbed 5% to $752 million, as improvements in mortgage banking offset weakness in auto lending and regional banking.
For 2007 JPMorgan Chase's net income in 2007 was a record $15.4 billion, or $4.38 a share, on record revenue of $71.4 billion. Overall -- not too shabby compared to its peers.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in JPMorgan Chase securities.
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