JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned the US economy is facing “considerable turbulence” from President Donald Trump’s threats to start a global trade war.
“The economy is facing considerable turbulence (including geopolitics), with the potential positives of tax reform and deregulation and the potential negatives of tariffs and ‘trade wars’, ongoing sticky inflation, high fiscal deficits and still rather high asset prices and volatility,” Dimon said. “As always, we hope for the best but prepare the firm for a wide range of scenarios.”
His remarks come after Trump paused his reciprocal tariffs for 90 days on all countries apart from China. The White House said it would hike levies to 145% on Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to hit back with a 125% tariff on American products.
He had warned about a drop in market confidence and the risk of a possible recession when he sat down with Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business on Wednesday morning.
Dimon made his latest comments in a filing as America’s biggest bank reported a 9% increase in profits for the start of 2025, registering $14.6 billion in net income for the first quarter of 2025.
That is up from $13.4 billion for the same period a year and beat analyst expectations of $13.6 billion. Earnings per share were $5.07, beating a forecast from the London Stock Exchange Group of $4.63.
Dimon, who has been in the bank’s top job for nearly two decades, also fired a warning shot over how the uneconomic uncertainty could weigh heavily on M&A activitiy in the future.
The veteran banker said investment banking “clients have become more cautious amid an increase in market volatility driven by geopolitical and trade-related tensions,” but his bank’s Wall Street operations still performed well in the first quarter of this year.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.