Quick answer: JPMorgan earnings contain two different third-quarter EPS figures: $5.57 as reported and $5.75 excluding a significant item. The difference is a disclosed adjustment—not an extra dividend, a share-price gain or evidence that the loss never happened.
Verified October 13, 2026, after publication of the earnings release. Financial results cover the quarter ended September 30. This is not a live stock-price update.
What is behind JPMorgan’s $5.57 versus $5.75 EPS?
The October 13 SEC-filed earnings release reports net income of $15.3 billion and diluted EPS of $5.57. Excluding discretionary investment securities losses, the figures are $15.8 billion and $5.75. The disclosed securities loss is $658 million before tax and $498 million after tax, with an EPS impact of $0.18.
A useful earnings review keeps the reported and exclusion-based figures side by side. Replacing the first with the second without its label hides a real expense. Refusing to look at the second at all can also miss management’s intended comparison. Neither shortcut tells an investor whether the business is becoming more valuable.
The adjustment bridge: what the arithmetic does and does not say
| Measure | EPS | Reading rule |
|---|---|---|
| Reported | $5.57 | Includes the significant item |
| Disclosed item impact | −$0.18 | Do not add it to both measures |
| Excluding significant item | $5.75 | Alternative presentation, not reported EPS |
MGI’s calculation is $5.57 + $0.18 = $5.75. The adjustment is about 3.2% of reported EPS: 0.18 ÷ 5.57. That percentage describes the size of the bridge, not underlying growth, a stock return or an investor’s expected yield. Adding $0.18 again to $5.75 would double-count the exclusion.
Likewise, the two profit totals are rounded to tenths of billions. Their displayed $0.5 billion difference is consistent with a $498 million after-tax item after rounding; it is not proof of an unexplained $2 million gain. Reconciliation should use the unrounded source where precision matters.
Why $50.2 billion and $50.9 billion are not interchangeable revenue
The same release distinguishes reported revenue of $50.2 billion from managed revenue of $50.9 billion. Managed reporting is a non-GAAP presentation. Readers should consult the release’s reconciliation rather than silently describing the larger number as reported revenue.
The practical lesson is to build a comparison with matched definitions. If a prior-quarter number is reported, compare it with reported revenue now. If a consensus estimate’s basis is unclear, do not declare a beat or miss. An EPS comparison also needs the same treatment of adjustments on both sides.
Four questions that matter beyond the adjusted headline
- Was the item economically real? Identify what was recognized, when and on which accounting basis. An exclusion changes the presentation, not the history.
- Could the category recur? A single quarter’s discretionary action is not enough to prove that similar gains or losses will never appear again. Look for a consistent multi-quarter treatment.
- What happened outside the adjustment? Review operating income, expenses and credit measures separately. Do not attribute every change in profit to this one item.
- Does valuation already assume improvement? A clean reconciliation can make the report easier to understand, but it cannot by itself establish a cheap stock. A valuation judgment needs a verified price and a clearly defined earnings basis.
Our pre-release JPMorgan checklist supplies the original questions; this article supplies a narrow results-based accounting bridge. To separate lending expenses from realized losses, read provisions, charge-offs and allowances. These are different issues from an investment securities loss.
Frequently asked questions
Is JPMorgan’s Q3 EPS $5.57 or $5.75?
Both appear in the release, but with different definitions. Use $5.57 for reported diluted EPS and label $5.75 as excluding the significant item.
Does adjusted EPS tell me whether JPM stock rose?
No. Earnings per share are company results; a stock return requires verified prices over a stated interval.
Bottom line: Read the $0.18 bridge before choosing a headline number. Keep reported results, adjustments and market reaction separate. Educational analysis, not individualized investment advice.