Second-quarter results from major U.S. financial firms kicked off the earnings season on 15 July, with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, BlackRock and State Street reporting amid heightened scrutiny of loan demand and the impact of this year’s tariff escalation. Custody bank State Street posted earnings of $2.17 a share, or $2.53 excluding special items, on revenue of $3.44 billion. Higher expenses and softer net interest income of $729 million offset record $49 trillion in assets under custody and $5 trillion in assets under management, pushing the stock down 4.2% in early trading. Results elsewhere were mixed. JPMorgan earned $14.99 billion, or $5.24 per share, topping analyst forecasts despite a 17% year-on-year profit decline. Citigroup’s net income rose 25% to $4 billion, while Wells Fargo’s profit grew 11.8% to $5.5 billion but the lender trimmed its full-year net-interest-income guidance, sending the shares 3.8% lower. BlackRock reported record $12.52 trillion in assets under management, yet its stock slid 3.6% as revenue lagged expectations.