Banks Lead Early Earnings Calls; CPI Falls by Most in Six Years Due to Lower Gas, Oil Prices; Wall Street Split on Inflation

Citi (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and JP Morgan (JPM) kicked off second quarter earnings season with a bang.

The largest financial institutions in America delivered results beyond the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

Goldman Sachs said revenue from its equities trading division rose 72% year over year to $7.4 billion. Its investment bank reported $3.4 billion in revenue, its highest quarterly figure since 2021, driven by its M&A advisory and equity underwriting groups.

The equity underwriting division, which includes underwriting initial public offerings, earned fees from several of the quarter's biggest AI-related deals, including SpaceX's (SPCX) blockbuster IPO and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) even larger follow-on stock sale. Revenue from that unit jumped 130% to $985 million.

JP Morgan Chase, the largest U.S. lender posted a profit of $21.2 billion, or $7.70 per share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with $14.99 billion, or $5.24 per share, ⁠a year earlier.

At 8:30 am ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued the June CPI report, cheering on Wall Street with a soft inflation report for June.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in June after rising 0.5 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This decline in the all items index was the largest 1-month decrease since April 2020 when it fell 0.8 percent. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index increased 3.5 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The index for energy fell 5.7 percent in June after rising 3.9 percent in May, 3.8 percent in April, and 10.9 percent in March. The energy index was the largest contributor to the monthly all items decrease, more than offsetting increases in other indexes including those for shelter and food. The index for food increased 0.2 percent over the month, as did the index for food at home and the index for food away from home.

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in June. Indexes that decreased over the month include motor vehicle insurance, communication, apparel, medical care, and used cars and trucks. Conversely, the indexes for recreation, household furnishings and operations, and personal care were among the major indexes that increased in June.

The all items index rose 3.5 percent for the 12 months ending June after rising 4.2 percent for the 12 months ending May. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.6 percent over the year, following a 2.9-percent increase over the 12 months ending May. The energy index increased 15.7 percent for the 12 months ending June. The food index increased 3.0 percent over the last year.

This constituted the single-largest drop in the CPI since April 2020, the drop in oil and gas prices being the main element. With war ramping back up in the Middle East, this could be a one off, but, for today, markets seem willing to take it with multiple grains of salt. After the initial knee-jerk reaction in stock futures, the indices have dropped back to more reasonable levels. Anything could happen today.

At the Close, Monday, June 13, 2026:
Dow: 52,498.64, -138.37 (-0.26%)
NASDAQ: 25,873.18, -408.43 (-1.55%)
S&P 500: 7,515.34, -60.05 (-0.79%)
NYSE Composite: 23,896.05, -29.03 (-0.12%)