Seventeen straight quarters. That is the streak Bank of America is chasing.
CEO Brian Moynihan told attendees at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27 that the firm expects second-quarter trading revenue to grow 15% year over year (YOY), which would mark the 17th consecutive quarter of sales and trading revenue growing at roughly 15% plus or minus.
In a business where a single bad quarter can reshape a firm’s competitive narrative, that kind of consistency is genuinely unusual. Wall Street‘s trading desks have been operating amid elevated volatility, geopolitical disruption from the war in Iran, and institutional investors constantly repositioning amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
For Bank of America (BAC), that tough variable has been revenue. The same uncertainty that unsettles markets is enriching the trading floor.
Moynihan’s commentary this week, starting May 24th, offers the clearest early read on what Bank of America’s second quarter is shaping up. In fact, the picture is constructive across multiple business lines, according to Seeking Alpha.
The trading streak context and what 15% Q2 growth would actually mean
Bank of America‘s first-quarter 2026 sales and trading revenue came in at $6.4 billion, up 13% year over year — the 16th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, according to the BofA’s Q1 2026 earnings report.
If Q226 delivers another 15% increase on top of that base, it will continue a compounding growth trajectory in Bank of America’s most market-sensitive business, sustained through multiple rate regimes, geopolitical events, and economic cycles.
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The consistency, not just the level, is what makes this streak analytically significant. Moynihan added a caveat worth noting in the commentary as reported by Seeking Alpha.
Moynihan mentioned that some of the year-over-year comparisons in Q2 will look elevated because the second quarter of 2025 was disrupted by the announcement of so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, which created a soft patch in market activity.
Part of the 15% projected growth reflects an easier comparison base rather than purely organic acceleration. Investors should keep that context in mind when evaluating the headline number.
Moynihan’s broader Q2 read — wealth management, investment banking, and the consumer
The trading revenue projection was not the only forward-looking data point Moynihan offered at Bernstein. He had a broadly constructive picture across Bank of America’s four major business segments.
Wealth management revenue is expected to grow “in the lower teens” year over year in Q2, with expense leverage delivering solid operating leverage. That will be in line with Q1 performance, according to Moynihan’s comments.
For context, the Global Wealth and Investment Management segment generated $6.7 billion in Q1 revenue, up 12% year over year, with asset management fees reaching $4.2 billion and client balances of $4.6 trillion, according to BofA’s Q1 2026 earnings report.
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On investment banking, Moynihan said pipelines are strong, and clients are “plowing through and adjusting to the situation” — acknowledging ongoing uncertainty while signaling activity has not frozen.
The consumer commentary was equally direct. “People are spending money,” Moynihan said. “Consumers are in pretty good shape because they’re employed.”
Consumer banking generated $11.0 billion in revenue in Q1, up 5% year over year, with combined credit and debit card spend of $245 billion, up 7%. Average deposits of $951 billion were modestly higher and up 32% from pre-pandemic levels, according to the Q1 report.
Bank of America’s Q1 2026 results set the foundation for the Q2 outlook
Moynihan’s Q2 commentary builds on a first quarter that already demonstrated the firm’s execution capacity.
Key Q1 2026 financial highlights:
- Net income of $8.6 billion
- Revenue growth of 7% year-over-year
- EPS growth of 25% year over year
- Net interest income up 9% year over year, ahead of internal expectations
- Sales and trading revenue of $6.4 billion, up 13% year over year
- Operating leverage of 290 basis points
- Global Wealth and Investment Management client balances of $4.6 trillion, up 10%
Source: Bank of America First Quarter 2026 Results
“Revenue growth of 7% year-over-year included net interest income that was better than we expected,” Moynihan said in the Q1 earnings statement.
“We saw healthy client activity, including solid consumer spending and stable asset quality, indicating a resilient American economy,” Moynihan added.
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My review of the institutional footprint behind these results adds important context. Bank of America has relationships with 78% of Global Fortune 500 companies and 96% of the U.S Fortune 1,000, according to Bank of America data as of April 16, 2026.
That breadth means its trading, investment banking, and wealth management revenues are exposed to the full range of corporate and institutional activity — not dependent on any single sector or client cohort.
What Moynihan’s Q2 signals mean for you as an investor
BAC is down 6.57% year-to-date against the S&P 500‘s 9.86% gain and has returned 18.16% over the past year versus the index’s 27%, according to Yahoo Finance.
BofA stock is trading at a modest discount to the broader market. That’s despite a business generating record trading revenues, growing wealth management assets, and delivering consistent earnings beats.
The 17th consecutive quarter of double-digit trading growth, if it arrives on 14 July, reinforces the case that Bank of America‘s trading franchise has structurally improved.
Combined with Moynihan’s constructive read on consumer health, investment banking pipelines, and wealth management momentum, the Q2 setup looks at least as strong as Q1.
