Investing.com - JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), the largest U.S. bank, reported weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and revenue ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell, sending its shares lower in pre-market trade.
JP Morgan said adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.19 in the fourth quarter, below expectations for adjusted earnings of $1.31 per share and compared to earnings of $1.30 cents in the same period a year earlier.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $4.9 billion, compared with net income of $5.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013.
The bank’s revenue totaled $23.55 billion in the final three months of 2014, missing estimates for revenue of $24.0 billion.
According to the report, fourth quarter results were affected by a $990 million, or $0.26 cents per share, write-off for legal expenses, in the wake of government probes into alleged wrongdoing.
Commenting on the results, Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Our businesses continue to demonstrate strong momentum and expense discipline."
Traders will now turn their attention to the bank’s conference call due to start at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Following the release of the report, shares in JPM shed 2.3% in pre-market trade to trade at $57.50 from Tuesday's closing price of 58.84.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow futures indicated a loss of 0.4%, the S&P 500 pointed to a decline of 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 indicated a drop of 0.3%.