JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America

Expectations are high that when banks start posting second-quarter results Tuesday, led by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, revenue from trading equities and fixed income will approach, or even exceed, the records set earlier this year.

That’s a key part of what veteran analyst Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo calls the “sweet spot” in the financial sector right now. Both of banking’s profit engines — Wall Street and Main Street — are in growth mode at the same time.

The largest U.S. banks are raking in rising fees from helping corporations tap the markets, punctuated by last month’s giant SpaceX IPO, while risk-taking traders are also thriving as geopolitical unrest including the Iran war stokes volatility across asset classes.

“You saw the largest IPO in history, a pace of mergers that’s on track to be a record year, and a broadening out of trading to include equity and fixed income across myriad geographies,” Mayo told CNBC.

The quarter’s big bank earnings come at an unusually favorable moment for the industry. After years of navigating higher interest rates and inflation-fueled recession fears, lenders are benefiting from a rare combination of booming Wall Street activity, resilient consumer credit and a long-awaited pickup in business lending.

“There’s not much more you can ask for,” Mayo said.

The trends, which coincide with the Trump administration’s push to ease banking regulations, have helped financial stocks outperform the broader market for two straight years, Mayo noted. That streak also raises the stakes as investors look for signs the momentum can continue into 2027.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs are set to post results early Tuesday, with Morgan Stanley reporting Wednesday.

Investment banking revenue for the group could surge 26% from a year ago, while trading revenue could jump 14%, according to KBW analyst Chris McGratty.

Besides the hundreds of millions of dollars in fees that SpaceX paid banks — led by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — for the IPO itself, the firms garnered fees for raising debt for the newly public company, and also have a shot at managing the wealth of newly minted millionaires and billionaires.

On top of that, Goldman and Morgan Stanley likely reaped so-called soft dollars from the SpaceX initial public offering, according to Jay Ritter, professor emeritus of finance at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.

Soft…