AI-Fueled Capital Surge Powers Record Earnings at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase

In the second quarter of 2026, Goldman Sachs reported revenue of $20.3 billion (up 39%) and JPMorgan Chase posted $58 billion (up 27%). Both banks attributed the surge to “AI everywhere in financial markets,” noting massive growth in equity-trading income, underwriting fees, and financing of AI-related infrastructure projects. Goldman’s shares jumped 8% and JPMorgan’s rose 2% after the results were released.

CNBCAI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

Bank executives describe the current environment as an AI capex supercycle—a multi-year build-out of data centers, power grids, and related hardware. The cycle, still in its early stages, is driving demand for every financing instrument across all regions and industries. This follows a broader shift from chip-stock hype to a sustained reallocation of capital toward AI-focused enterprises worldwide.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

• Equity-trading income: Goldman Sachs $7.42 billion (up 72% YoY); JPMorgan Chase $6 billion (up 86%).

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

• Underwriting fees: $3.40 billion for Goldman, a 55% YoY rise; JPMorgan’s investment-banking fees $3.30 billion (up 30%).

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• Major deals: Goldman led the $86 billion SpaceX IPO and co-coordinated SK Hynix’s $26.5 billion ADR offering; JPMorgan helped finance a $13 billion data-center package for Meta Platforms.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

• Bank-wide profit: The five major U.S. banks generated $49 billion in Q2 profit, a 39% YoY increase.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

The AI spending surge is extending beyond tech firms to real-estate, power generation, construction, and even “plumbers and electricians,” creating new financing opportunities for banks. Goldman’s CEO described this as a “multiplier effect,” where advisory work spawns credit, risk-management, and investment-market activities, amplifying the impact of AI capital on the broader U.S. economy.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

Goldman’s David Solomon told analysts the AI infrastructure build-out “remains in its early stages” and will “continue to drive elevated levels of strategic activity, financing, and capital formation across markets.” JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said the bank sees “decent capital-expenditure and loan demand from companies that may not be AI-related, but have an indirect link,” likening the effect to ancillary demand for tradespeople. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon noted the bank is developing roughly 1,000 AI use cases, with 50 focused on fraud detection, risk management, and client onboarding.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

Market volatility and high valuations have sparked doubts about the durability of the boom. Tech-stock weakness this quarter has led some companies—such as OpenAI—to consider postponing IPOs, causing Goldman and Morgan Stanley shares to slip more than 4%. Analysts caution that “trading income goes up when investors are scared, and deal fees rise when investors are excited,” highlighting the fragility of the current earnings engine.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

• “A lot of it is downstream of the AI theme, writ large on a global basis. It's just a very, very, very active environment.” — Jeremy Barnum, CFO, JPMorgan Chase

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• “We are in the middle of an AI capex super cycle where there are demands on financing in every single financing instrument, in every region of the world and across every single industry,” — David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs

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• “The build-out of AI infrastructure remains in its early stages, and we believe this multi-year investment cycle will continue to drive elevated levels of strategic activity, financing, and capital formation across markets,” — David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs

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• “The AI-driven capex super cycle has benefited equity issuance, M&A activity and debt financing,” — Stephen Biggar, Director of Financial Services Research, Argus Research

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• “more greed than fear” — David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

Goldman’s revenue is cited as $20.3 billion in Reuters and CNBC, while a separate source lists $20.34 billion. Both figures reflect the same quarter but differ slightly in rounding. No public data were provided on the exact proportion of AI-related versus non-AI-related financing within the banks’ overall loan books.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"

Banks are positioning for upcoming AI-centric IPOs, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and DeepSeek, while continuing to underwrite large data-center financings. Executives expect the AI capex supercycle to persist for the next three to five years, though they acknowledge potential “twists and recalibrations” as firms decide on infrastructure scale and pricing.

AI boom spreads to Wall Street! Tech stocks are "feasting" while major US banks "get a taste"