J.P. Morgan profit falls but beats estimates

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and a surprise increase in revenue, while its expenses declined.

Shares rose 2.1% premarket.

The largest U.S. bank by assets reported a profit of $6.2 billion, or $1.55 a share. That compares with a profit of $6.29 billion, or $1.54 a share, in the same period of 2015. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $1.43 a share.

Revenue rose 2.4% to $24.38 billion. On an adjusted basis, revenue was $25.21 billion, greater than the $24.16 billion analysts had expected.

J.P. Morgan, run by Chairman and Chief Executive James Dimon, kicks off second-quarter earnings season for large U.S. banks, offering investors a snapshot of a quarter that analysts expect will be characterized by Brexit's surprise on the back end. Plummeting bond yields in the wake of that promise to add to pressure on bank profits in coming quarters.

J.P. Morgan's trading revenue increased 23% to $5.56 billion from $4.51 billion in the second quarter of 2015. Daniel Pinto, head of J.P. Morgan's corporate and investment bank, said in mid-June that trading was expected to rise by more than 10% in the second quarter.

Costs decreased 5.9% to $13.64 billion from $14.5 billion a year earlier, an effort the bank continues to drill down on, though Ms. Lake warned in mid-June that they were expected to be flat.