Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley earn $52 billion in AI trading revenue

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have taken the lion’s share of the AI‑driven equity trading boom, pulling in a combined $52 billion in stock‑trading revenue through September 30. That accounts for almost 80 percent of the $67 billion the five biggest U.S. investment banks earned on equities this year, a sum that already tops the total they made in all of 2025.

The surge comes as AI‑related stocks have lifted market values and trading volumes across shares, ETFs and derivatives. Relaxed capital rules have let banks lend more freely to hedge funds, and those funds are using the credit to amplify bets on AI hardware, cloud providers and chip makers. Prime‑brokerage services – margin loans, securities lending and other support for hedge funds – have become a key growth engine, feeding the heightened demand for leverage.

Goldman’s equity‑financing line jumped 96 percent in the third quarter to a record $3.37 billion. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley reported similar spikes, though they did not break out the exact figures. Analysts note that the three banks now view each other as their main rivals in the “AI mega‑trade.” JPMorgan’s CFO Jeremy Barnum said the market’s appetite for capital is “insatiable,” while Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo called the Big Three the best positioned to profit from the frenzy. The total $67 billion in equity revenue is $7 billion more than the entire 2025 haul, underscoring the pace of growth.

The shift is turning equity desks from seasonal, transaction‑focused units into durable, high‑margin lending engines. Executives say the advantage lies in offering clients a full suite of services and continuous coverage, not just a single trade price. The gap between the Big Three and rivals such as Bank of America and Citigroup is widening, suggesting that banks that can pair deep capital with comprehensive support will dominate the next wave of AI‑related market activity.