Think about how many times a bank touched your money this week. You tapped a card for coffee, your paycheck landed, maybe a mortgage payment went out or you moved some cash into a brokerage account. Every one of those swipes and transfers earns some bank a small fee or a bit of interest. Multiply that by 340 million people and millions of businesses, and you start to see how banks make their money.
JPMorgan Chase alone earned $15.3 billion in the third quarter of 2026. That’s one bank, in three months. Goldman Sachs’ earnings per share jumped 39% on the back of a stock trading boom. Wells Fargo is growing again now that the Federal Reserve lifted the asset cap that held it back for seven years. On the other side, Truist took a $1.4 billion loss selling old bonds, and most of the big Wall Street names were sitting 20% or more below their 52-week highs in late October.
Below are the top 15 banking stocks in the USA, ordered by market cap. For each one you get what the bank actually does, how its last quarter went, and what could go wrong. Earnings numbers come from the companies’ own releases for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, except where we say otherwise.
Not financial advice. This article is for general information only. It isn’t a recommendation to buy or sell any stock. Bank stocks can fall hard and fast when the economy turns, and several on this list are already more than 20% off their highs. Do your own research and, if you can, talk to a licensed financial advisor before you invest.
Top 15 US Banking Stocks at a Glance
Market cap is from CompaniesMarketCap (CMC) or StockAnalysis (SA) on the date shown. Revenue is for the third quarter of 2026, compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Dividend yield is from StockAnalysis on the same price date.
| # | Company (ticker) | What it does | Market cap (source, date) | Q3 revenue | Q3 net income | Dividend yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JPMorgan Chase (JPM) | Biggest US bank: Chase branches, cards, investment banking | $888.3B (SA, Nov 6) | $50.17B (+8%) | $15.31B | 1.97% |
| 2 | Bank of America (BAC) | Consumer banking, Merrill wealth, trading | $348.8B (CMC, Nov 9) | About $30B (+3%)* | $6.9B* | 2.53% |
| 3 | Morgan Stanley (MS) | Wealth management and trading | $283.6B (SA, Nov 6) | $20.34B (+12%) | $4.91B | 2.54% |
| 4 | Goldman Sachs (GS) | Investment banking, trading, asset management | $261.4B (CMC, Nov 9) | $18.68B (+23%) | $5.29B | 2.20% |
| 5 | Wells Fargo (WFC) | Consumer and commercial banking | $256.6B (CMC, Nov 9) | $21.87B (+2%)* | $5.95B* | 2.43%* |
| 6 | Citigroup (C) | Global corporate banking, cards, wealth | $201.9B (CMC, Nov 9) | $23.85B (+8%) | $5.25B | 2.19% |
| 7 | Charles Schwab (SCHW) | Brokerage with a large bank attached | $155.0B (SA, Oct 27) | $7.17B (+17%) | $2.91B | 1.43% |
| 8 | Capital One (COF) | Credit cards, auto loans, owns Discover | $121.7B (SA, Oct 26) | $16.3B (n/a)** | $3.5B | 1.58% |
| 9 | BNY (BK) | Custody bank holding $63.4T for clients | $101.7B (CMC, undated)* | $5.68B (+12%) | $1.69B | n/a* |
| 10 | U.S. Bancorp (USB) | Biggest regional bank, payments | $93.0B (SA, Oct 26) | $7.97B (record) | $2.20B | 3.62% |
| 11 | PNC Financial (PNC) | Regional bank across the East, Midwest and South | $89.7B (SA, Oct 26) | $6.56B (+11%) | $2.10B | 3.54% |
| 12 | Truist (TFC) | Regional bank in the Southeast | $58.6B (SA, Oct 26) | $3.75B GAAP, $5.3B adjusted | $0.80B | 4.25% |
| 13 | Fifth Third (FITB) | Midwest regional, now owns Comerica | $48.2B (SA, Oct 26) | $3.28B (about +40%)* | $0.87B | 3.16% |
| 14 | State Street (STT) | Custody bank and SPDR ETFs | $46.6B (SA, Oct 26) | About $4.0B (+13%)* | $1.03B* | 2.16% |
| 15 | M&T Bank (MTB) | Northeast regional bank | $31.9B (SA, Oct 23) | $2.54B (+1%)* | $0.78B | 2.71% |
* Single source, our own sum, or a news report rather than the company release. See the notes under each stock. ** Capital One’s release does not give a year-ago revenue figure.
A quick word on words. “Net interest income” is what a bank earns on loans minus what it pays on deposits. “ROTCE” (return on tangible common equity) tells you how much profit the bank makes on shareholders’ money; above 15% is good for a big bank. “CET1” is the capital cushion regulators watch. Higher means safer, but it also means more money sitting idle.
1. JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
JPMorgan is the biggest bank in America by a long way. You know the consumer side as Chase: branches, checking accounts, Sapphire credit cards, mortgages. Behind it sits one of the largest investment banks and trading desks in the world, plus a wealth arm managing $5.2 trillion. Its market cap of $888.3 billion is more than two and a half times the size of Bank of America, the next biggest.
Third-quarter revenue was $50.17 billion, up 8% from $46.43 billion. Net income rose 6% to $15.31 billion and diluted EPS rose 10% to $5.57. Net interest income grew 13% to $27.04 billion. Markets revenue was up 15% to $10.32 billion and investment banking fees up 13%. Return on tangible common equity held at 20%. The dividend went to $1.65 a quarter from $1.50 a year earlier.
For the full year, JPMorgan guided to about $106.2 billion of net interest income and about $108.6 billion of adjusted expense.
Good for: Investors who want one bank stock that does a bit of everything and does it well. The catch: Expenses grew faster than revenue, up 12% to $27.30 billion, and the bank booked $658 million of losses selling investment securities. The CET1 ratio fell to 14.0% from 14.8% a year earlier. It’s also one of the pricier banks here, with a forward P/E of 13.3 on StockAnalysis. Only Morgan Stanley is higher.
2. Bank of America (BAC)
Bank of America has one of the biggest branch and ATM networks in the country, the Merrill wealth business, and a big trading desk. When interest rates move, BofA feels it more than most, because it holds so many deposits and bonds.
Here we have to be careful. We could not open BofA’s own release, so these numbers come from one news report by Pulse 2.0. It says revenue was about $30 billion, up 3%, and net interest income rose 8% to $16.4 billion. Net income was $6.9 billion, or $0.91 a share, after a $1.2 billion regulatory settlement charge. Without that charge, adjusted EPS was $1.08. Wealth management revenue rose 13% to $7.1 billion, and the bank returned $8.3 billion to shareholders, $6 billion of it in buybacks.
CEO Brian Moynihan was quoted as saying “While investment banking and sales and trading revenues were lower, commercial lending grew in every client segment.”
Good for: Investors who want a cheaper big bank. StockAnalysis showed a forward P/E of 10.1 and a 2.53% yield on October 26. The catch: The settlement charge, and the fact that the stock was 22.6% below its 52-week high on October 26, the widest gap on this list. Check BofA’s own release before you buy.
3. Morgan Stanley (MS)
Morgan Stanley used to be a pure Wall Street trading firm. Today wealth management is about half the business, after it bought E*Trade and Smith Barney over the years. If you have a financial advisor at a big firm, there’s a fair chance they work here.
Net revenues were $20.34 billion, up 12%. Net income rose 6% to $4.91 billion and EPS was $3.03 against $2.80. Wealth management revenue hit a record $9.07 billion, and the firm brought in $232.4 billion of net new assets, almost three times the $81 billion of a year earlier. Just over half of that came from clients cashing out of IPOs. Equity trading revenue jumped 41% to $5.80 billion.
CEO Ted Pick said “Wealth Management reported record revenues and added $232 billion in net new assets and $80 billion in fee-based flows.”
Good for: Investors who want steady wealth management fees with some Wall Street upside, and a 2.54% yield. The catch: Fixed income trading fell 7% and investment management revenue fell 12% after a carried-interest reversal. Non-compensation expenses rose 20%. EPS was also down from $3.46 in the second quarter, and the stock was 21.9% below its high on November 6.
4. Goldman Sachs (GS)
Goldman is the bank companies call when they want to buy another company, go public or raise billions in bonds. It also runs one of the biggest trading operations on Wall Street and manages more than $4 trillion. A few years ago it tried consumer banking with Apple Card and Marcus, and it has been backing out of that since.
This was a strong quarter. Net revenues jumped 23% to $18.68 billion. Net earnings were $5.29 billion and EPS rose 39% to $17.01 from $12.25. Equities trading revenue was $6.44 billion, up 72%, and investment banking fees rose 21% to $3.22 billion. Asset and wealth management revenue grew 14% to $5.05 billion. Goldman bought back $3 billion of stock in the quarter.
Good for: Investors who think deal-making and trading will stay busy and want the bank that profits most when they do. The catch: Its earnings swing a lot. EPS was $20.98 in the second quarter and $17.01 in the third. Platform Solutions revenue fell 72% because of markdowns on Apple Card loans. Operating expenses rose 20%, and the investment banking backlog was lower than in June. The stock was 21.3% below its 52-week high on October 27.
5. Wells Fargo (WFC)
Wells Fargo is the stagecoach bank, with thousands of branches and a big business lending to companies of every size. In 2018 the Federal Reserve capped its total assets after the fake accounts scandal. The Fed lifted that cap in June 2025, and Wells has been growing its balance sheet again since.
Our Q3 numbers come from news reports, not the company release. Revenue was $21.87 billion, up 2%. Net income was $5.95 billion, up 6%, and EPS rose 13% to $1.87. Average loans were up 11% to $1.03 trillion and average deposits up 11% to $1.48 trillion. The bank bought back $2.5 billion of stock. Financial Modeling Prep reported wealth management revenue up 12% and a return on equity of 13.8%. Family Wealth Report said M&A revenue in the investment bank rose 30%.
Good for: Investors who want a turnaround story that’s already working. Loans and deposits both grew 11% in a year. The catch: Revenue grew only 2%, and Financial Modeling Prep says it missed analyst estimates. The provision for credit losses rose 51% to $1.03 billion, which means the bank expects more bad loans.
6. Citigroup (C)
Citi is the most global of the big US banks. It moves money for big companies in dozens of countries, issues a lot of credit cards in the US, and is selling off most of its overseas consumer banks, including Banamex in Mexico. CEO Jane Fraser has spent years cutting layers and fixing problems regulators flagged.
The numbers finally look better. Revenue rose 8% to $23.85 billion. Net income jumped 40% to $5.25 billion and EPS was $2.85 against $1.86, though $0.61 of that came from a one-off item. The Services unit, which handles cash and payments for corporations, grew revenue 15% to $6.61 billion and earned a 31.2% return on tangible equity. Wealth revenue was up 15%. Citi returned more than $4 billion to shareholders.
Fraser said “Services delivered another standout quarter, up 15%, with momentum in every driver.”
Good for: Value investors. StockAnalysis showed a forward P/E of 10.0, the second lowest here. The catch: Citi’s return on tangible equity was 11.5%, still well under the 20% JPMorgan earns. US card net income fell 8%, and the provision for losses on Mexican consumer loans rose 61%.
7. Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Most people think of Schwab as a brokerage, and it is. But it also owns a large bank, and it earns about half its revenue from interest on the cash clients park in their accounts. It holds $13.33 trillion of client assets after buying TD Ameritrade.
Net revenues were a record $7.17 billion, up 17%. Net income rose 23% to $2.91 billion and EPS rose 29% to $1.62. Clients brought in $190.4 billion of core net new assets, up 38%. Margin loans nearly doubled to $187.9 billion as people borrowed to buy stocks. Schwab raised its dividend 19% to $0.32 a share.
Good for: Investors who want to profit from more Americans investing, with a bank’s interest income on top. The catch: That margin loan boom works in reverse if stocks fall, and $60.7 billion of it is tied to long/short strategies. Revenue per trade fell 20%. The stock was 21.7% below its high on October 27.
8. Capital One (COF)
Capital One is a credit card company that also has a bank. It closed its purchase of Discover in 2025, which gave it its own card payment network, so it doesn’t have to pay Visa or Mastercard on every card it moves over. It’s also a big auto lender.
Total net revenue was $16.3 billion, up 3% from the second quarter. Net income was $3.5 billion, against $3.2 billion a year earlier, and EPS was $5.61 against $4.83. Adjusted EPS was $6.69. The net interest margin was 8.41%, far higher than any other bank here, because card loans carry high interest rates. The CET1 ratio was 13.8%.
CEO Richard Fairbank said “The Discover integration continues to go well and we’re making good progress on delivering the expected synergies.”
Good for: Investors who want the cheapest stock on this list. StockAnalysis showed a forward P/E of 8.8 on October 26. The catch: Card lending is the first place bad loans show up in a downturn. Net charge-offs were $3.1 billion in the quarter. Discover integration costs were $338 million, and deposits fell 1% from June.
9. BNY (BK)
BNY, formerly BNY Mellon, is the oldest bank in the US, founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1784. You won’t find a branch. It’s a custody bank, meaning it holds and keeps track of stocks and bonds for pension funds, insurers and asset managers. It looks after $63.4 trillion of assets.
Revenue rose 12% to $5.68 billion. EPS was $2.34, up 24% from $1.88. Net interest income grew 15% to $1.42 billion. Return on tangible common equity was 29.0%, the second highest here after Schwab. BNY returned $1.4 billion to shareholders in the quarter.
CEO Robin Vince said “With broad-based growth across our platforms, we increased revenue by 12% year-over-year.”
Good for: Investors who want fee income that doesn’t depend on loans going bad or not. The catch: Earnings slipped from the second quarter, with EPS down 4%. Assets under management grew just 2%. We also couldn’t get a current dividend yield, so check it before you buy.
10. U.S. Bancorp (USB)
U.S. Bank, based in Minneapolis, is the biggest regional bank in the country. It runs branches across the Midwest and West, and a large payments business that processes card payments for merchants. It bought the brokerage BTIG this year.
Net revenue was a record $7.97 billion. Net income rose 10% to $2.20 billion and EPS rose 9.8% to $1.34. Fee revenue grew 14.9% and capital markets revenue jumped 69.3% in the first full quarter with BTIG. The net charge-off rate was 0.51%. Return on tangible equity was 18.5%.
CEO Gunjan Kedia said “Record net revenue of $8.0 billion drove diluted earnings per share of $1.34, up 10% year-over-year.”
Good for: Income investors. The 3.62% yield on StockAnalysis is the second highest here, after Truist. The catch: Deposits grew only 2.9% while loans grew 8%, so the bank has to pay more for funding. The CET1 ratio of 10.8% is on the lower side for a bank this size.
11. PNC Financial (PNC)
PNC started in Pittsburgh and now has branches across much of the country, including Texas and Colorado, after buying BBVA USA in 2021 and the Colorado bank FirstBank more recently. It’s a classic lender: deposits in, loans out.
Revenue rose 11% to $6.56 billion. Net income was $2.10 billion against $1.82 billion, and EPS was $4.97 against $4.35. Net interest income grew 15% to $4.21 billion. Return on tangible equity improved to 18.3%. PNC raised its quarterly dividend to $2.00 from $1.70.
CEO Bill Demchak said “Our strategy continues to drive growth across our businesses.”
Good for: Income investors. The 17.6% dividend raise is one of the biggest on this list, and the yield is 3.54%. The catch: Fee income fell 15% from the second quarter, mostly capital markets. Nonperforming loans rose 8% in three months, and CET1 dropped to 9.8% from 10.7% a year earlier.
12. Truist (TFC)
Truist was formed in 2019 when BB&T and SunTrust merged, and it’s the main bank in much of the Southeast, around Charlotte and Atlanta. It’s been shrinking on purpose, selling its insurance arm and now loan books, to focus on core banking.
On paper this quarter looks bad. GAAP revenue was $3.75 billion and net income fell to $0.80 billion, or $0.56 a share. The reason is a $1.4 billion pre-tax loss from selling low-yielding securities, which cost $0.90 a share. Without it, adjusted EPS was $1.16, up 12%. Truist also agreed on October 14 to sell $7.7 billion of LightStream consumer loans to Carlyle, and it bought back $1.2 billion of stock.
CEO Mike Lyons said “We’re simplifying the company and focusing our resources, capital, and expenses.”
Good for: Income investors. Truist’s 4.25% yield is the highest on this list. The catch: Net interest income barely grew, up 0.7%. The net charge-off rate jumped to 0.77% from 0.48%, although much of that came from loans moved for sale. Adjusted return on tangible equity was 14.6%, behind most peers here.
13. Fifth Third (FITB)
Fifth Third is a Cincinnati bank with branches across the Midwest and Southeast. In February 2026 it closed its purchase of Comerica, a Dallas-based business bank, which made it a lot bigger in Texas, California and Michigan.
With Comerica inside, everything grew. American Banker reported revenue of $3.3 billion, up 40%, and our own sum from the release gives $3.28 billion. Net interest income jumped 49% to $2.28 billion. GAAP EPS was $0.90, and $1.13 adjusted after merger charges. Average loans were $179.2 billion against $123.3 billion a year earlier. CEO Tim Spence said “Fifth Third’s third quarter reflected the earnings power of the combined company.”
Good for: Investors who like a merger that’s done and starting to pay off. Systems conversion finished in September. The catch: Merger charges were $215 million in the quarter. Nonaccrual loans rose to $1.07 billion from $768 million a year earlier, and CFO Bryan Preston told American Banker there’s “still a lot of cultural work” to do.
14. State Street (STT)
State Street is BNY’s main rival in custody, and it also runs State Street Investment Management, maker of the SPDR ETFs, including SPY, the biggest ETF in the world.
All figures here come from one Zacks report. Revenue was about $4.0 billion, up 12.9%. EPS was $3.69 and net income to common shareholders rose 28.4% to $1.03 billion. Net interest income grew 20.8% to $864 million. Assets under custody reached a record $59.17 trillion and assets under management a record $6.31 trillion.
Good for: Investors who want to own a piece of the ETF boom through the company behind SPY. The catch: Net inflows fell to $7 billion from $114 billion the quarter before. Revenue missed estimates, State Street raised its expense growth outlook to 8% to 8.5%, and the stock fell about 9% before the market opened, according to Zacks.
15. M&T Bank (MTB)
M&T is a Buffalo bank with branches across New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New England. It’s known for careful lending and for buying banks at good prices, like People’s United in 2022.
Revenue by our sum of the release figures was $2.54 billion, up 1%. Net income was $775 million against $792 million, but EPS rose to $5.04 from $4.82 because buybacks cut the share count. Average loans grew 5%. The net charge-off rate fell to 0.35% from 0.42% a year earlier. Return on tangible equity was 17.3%. CFO Daryl Bible pointed to “strong loan and deposit growth, stable credit and a solid capital position.”
Good for: Conservative investors who want a well-run regional bank with low credit losses. The catch: Growth is slow. Fee income fell 1% and the net interest margin slipped to 3.65%. Nonaccrual loans rose to $1.30 billion from $1.21 billion in June, and CET1 fell to 10.16% from 10.99%.
How to Pick a Bank Stock That Fits You
You don’t need all 15. Here is a simple way to narrow it down:
- Pick the type of bank. Big all-round banks: JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi. Wall Street and wealth: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Schwab. Custody banks that earn fees: BNY and State Street. Regional lenders: U.S. Bancorp, PNC, Truist, Fifth Third and M&T. Cards: Capital One.
- Check return on tangible equity. This is the one number that tells you how good a bank is at making money. BNY was at 29%, JPMorgan 20%, Citi 11.5%. A low number can mean a cheap stock with room to improve, or a bank that’s just weaker.
- Look at credit. Rising charge-offs and a bigger provision for loan losses are early warnings. Wells Fargo’s provision rose 51% and Truist’s charge-off rate jumped. Capital One will feel a recession first.
- Decide if you want income. Truist (4.25%), U.S. Bancorp (3.62%) and PNC (3.54%) pay the most. Schwab and Capital One pay under 1.6%.
- Keep each stock small. Most of the Wall Street names were more than 20% below their highs in late October and early November. A common rule is to keep any single stock under 5% of your portfolio.
If you would rather not pick single stocks, a low-cost index fund holds most of these banks for you. Our top 10 mutual funds comparison lists the cheapest ones. For a completely different sector, see our top 15 industrial stocks in the USA or the top 10 construction stocks in the USA. And if the AI rally makes you nervous, read our piece on defensive stocks during the AI bull market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest bank stock in the USA?
JPMorgan Chase, with a market cap of about $888 billion on November 6, 2026, according to StockAnalysis. Bank of America comes second at about $349 billion on November 9, per CompaniesMarketCap.
Which bank stock pays the highest dividend?
On this list, Truist had the highest yield at 4.25% on StockAnalysis, then U.S. Bancorp at 3.62%, PNC at 3.54% and Fifth Third at 3.16%. PNC raised its dividend to $2.00 a quarter from $1.70, and Schwab raised its payout 19%.
Which bank had the best third quarter of 2026?
By earnings growth, Goldman Sachs. Its EPS rose 39% to $17.01 on a 72% jump in equities trading. Citi’s net income grew 40%, though part of that came from a one-off item. Schwab’s EPS was up 29% and BNY’s 24%.
Are bank stocks a good investment right now?
Profits are strong. Schwab and U.S. Bancorp reported record revenue, Morgan Stanley’s wealth unit had a record quarter, and State Street hit record assets under custody. Several banks are also cheap on forward earnings, with Capital One near 8.8 and Citi near 10. The risk is credit. Wells Fargo’s loss provision jumped 51%, and nonperforming loans rose at PNC, Fifth Third and M&T. No one can tell you if now is the right time.
What is the difference between big banks and regional banks?
Big banks like JPMorgan and Citi lend, trade, advise on mergers and operate around the world. Regional banks like PNC, Truist and M&T mostly take deposits and make loans in one part of the country. Regional banks usually pay higher dividends but have fewer ways to make money when lending slows.
Is Charles Schwab a bank stock?
Partly. Schwab is a brokerage first, but it owns Charles Schwab Bank and earned $3.48 billion of net interest revenue in the third quarter, about half its total. That’s why it’s regulated like a bank and included here.
Start With the Bank You Already Know
Most of you already have an account with at least one bank on this list. Start there. You know how the app works, how fast they answer the phone, and if they keep raising fees. Then read the latest quarterly release and see if the numbers tell the same story.
