J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. could be worth $1 trillion by 2030.
Morgan Stanley analysts said the most valuable U.S. bank — which is currently valued at $410 billion — could more than double its market capitalization and reach that landmark figure, Bloomberg reported Friday (Feb. 24).
Were it to do so, J.P. Morgan would join a handful of companies that have reached the $1 trillion mark. Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco and Alphabet are the only companies that now have market caps above that threshold, according to the report.
Apple became the first company trading in the United States to have a market cap of more than $1 trillion in August 2018.
If interest rates stay high for a longer period of time, J.P. Morgan could reach $1 trillion in 12 years. If it becomes more efficient, speeds its revenue growth or gains a premium earnings multiple, it could do so in eight years, the report said.
Higher interest rates benefit the lender by delivering greater net interest income, fees and efficiencies, per the report.
During J.P. Morgan’s most recent earnings call Jan. 13, the bank’s results showed caution about what’s coming next, particularly in consumer lending.
At the same time, consumer spending seems resilient, as credit and debit sales volume was up during the fourth quarter, year over year, indicating at least some appetite for U.S. households to take on more debt.
“We still do not know the ultimate effect of the headwinds coming from geopolitical tensions including the war in Ukraine, the vulnerable state of energy and food supplies, persistent inflation that is eroding purchasing power and has pushed interest rates higher, and the unprecedented quantitative tightening,” J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said at the time.
Currently J.P. Morgan Chase is upbeat about its hiring plans even as other Wall Street banks cut jobs.
The bank plans to hire more than 500 bankers focused on small businesses through next year. That would increase the bank’s workforce targeting the segment by 20% from more than 2,300 currently.
Dimon told Reuters Feb. 9: “We’re still opening branches and in general around the world, we are still hiring bankers, consumer bankers, small business bankers, middle market bankers, folks overseas … we have more clients to cover.”