Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Posts Q2 2026 Net Income of $9.1B, EPS of $1.21 on Record Trading and Dealmaking

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) reported second-quarter 2026 net income of $9.1B, up 27% year over year, and diluted EPS of $1.21, up 34% year over year, as every major business segment posted higher earnings. Revenue, net of interest expense, rose 15% year over year to $31.6B, driven by record-level activity across trading desks and deal advisory.

Q2 2026 Results

• Net income: $9.1B, up 27% year over year
• Diluted EPS: $1.21, up 34% year over year
• Revenue (net of interest expense): $31.6B, up 15% year over year
• Net interest income (NII): $16.0B, up 9% year over year
• Noninterest income: $15.6B, up 22% year over year
• Efficiency ratio: 59%; operating leverage of 6.6%
• Return on equity (ROE): 12.7%, up 259 basis points year over year
• Return on tangible common equity (ROTCE): 17.0%, up 342 basis points year over year

What Drove the Results

Sales and trading revenue climbed 33% year over year, while investment banking fees rose 50%, combining to lift noninterest income by $2.8B. Asset management fees contributed an additional 20% year-over-year gain. NII of $16.0B grew $1.3B, or 9%, on the back of average loan growth of 8% to $1.22T and average deposit growth of 2% to $2.02T.

All four business segments expanded earnings. Global Markets posted net income of $2.6B, up 72% year over year, on the trading surge. Global Wealth and Investment Management generated $1.4B in net income, up 42%, while Global Banking earned $2.0B, up 20%. Consumer Banking contributed $3.3B, up 10%, with return on average allocated capital of 29%.

Credit quality remained stable. The provision for credit losses totaled $1.4B, down from $1.6B in Q2 2025, and net charge-offs of $1.4B also declined from $1.5B a year earlier. Noninterest expense rose 8% to $18.6B, but revenue growth of 15% more than offset the cost increase, producing 6.6% positive operating leverage.

Balance Sheet and Capital

Bank of America's capital position remained firm. The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio held at 11.2%, well above the regulatory minimum, with CET1 capital of $202B. Average Global Liquidity Sources stood at $947B. The company returned $8.0B to shareholders in the quarter: $2.0B in common stock dividends and $6.0B in share repurchases. Return on average assets improved 19 basis points year over year to 1.03%.

Wall Street View

Wall Street sentiment on BAC heading into the print was broadly constructive, with the analyst community skewed toward buy-side ratings. The quarter's combination of NII recovery, trading outperformance, and fee growth across wealth management and investment banking aligned with the thesis that a more active capital markets environment would benefit the bank's diversified revenue mix.

Investor Takeaway

The Q2 2026 report confirms that Bank of America's revenue diversification, spanning consumer lending, wealth management, and institutional markets, is generating meaningful operating leverage at scale: 15% revenue growth against 8% expense growth. The 50% surge in investment banking fees and 33% jump in trading revenue are particularly notable because they are volume-sensitive lines that can compress quickly if market activity slows, making the sustainability of those gains a key variable for the second half of 2026. With the CET1 ratio stable at 11.2% and $8.0B returned to shareholders in a single quarter, the bank enters the back half of the year with capital flexibility intact.