Bank of America $BAC slips 0.04% after Q1 beat; equities revenue jumps 30%

Bank of America $BAC was down 0.04% in U.S. trading at 12:54 UTC on April 15 even after the lender posted first-quarter EPS of $1.11 on revenue of $30.43 billion, ahead of LSEG estimates of $1.01 and $29.93 billion cited by CNBC. In its 1Q26 earnings release, Bank of America said net income reached $8.6 billion and revenue was about $30.3 billion, with management still seeing "healthy client activity."

The beat came from the parts of the franchise most exposed to market volumes. Sales and trading revenue rose 13% to $6.4 billion, the bank said, while equities revenue jumped 30% to $2.83 billion and exceeded the StreetAccount estimate by roughly $350 million. That helped deliver the Global Markets division's best quarter in 15 years. Fixed income, currencies and commodities revenue was less impressive at about $3.5 billion, missing StreetAccount expectations by roughly $330 million.

Loan-spread income also helped. Net interest income climbed 9% to $15.9 billion, topping the StreetAccount consensus of $15.67 billion as higher loan and deposit balances, fixed-rate asset repricing and markets activity all contributed. Credit metrics were stable rather than deteriorating: the provision for credit losses was $1.3 billion, below both the $1.5 billion level a year earlier and the estimate by about $190 million, while the net charge-off ratio improved to 0.48%.

The release shows the earnings breadth behind the headline. Consumer Banking generated $3.1 billion of net income on $11.0 billion of revenue, with combined credit and debit card spend up 7% to $245 billion. Global Wealth and Investment Management added $1.3 billion of net income on $6.7 billion of revenue, while client balances reached $4.6 trillion and assets under management climbed to $2.1 trillion. That mix supports the argument that Bank of America is benefiting from both resilient households and stronger market activity.

What investors will watch next is whether equities trading can stay elevated once geopolitical volatility fades, and whether fixed income catches back up. The other key variable is net interest income: if deposit growth, loan repricing and consumer spending remain firm into the June quarter, Bank of America has a cleaner path to defending margins than peers that rely more heavily on trading alone. The first quarter did not remove macro risk, but it did show a broad-based earnings engine rather than a narrow market bounce.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.