3 Banking Giants Set to Kick Off Earnings Season

All three stock sport healthy year-to-date and year-over-year gains

Jake Scott

Deputy Editor

Oct 7, 2024 at 12:51 PM

Earnings season is set to kick into high gear at the end of the week, and amongst the swath of companies set to release their quarterly results are several major financial firms. The banking sector tends to outperform in the fourth quarter, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) taking second place on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of exchange-traded funds (ETF) that outperformed during the quarter over the last 10 years.

With that in mind, we're going to take a quick look at how Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are faring before they take their trips to the earnings confessionals.

Wells Fargo stock is up 0.3% at $57.12 this afternoon, extending Friday's 1.9% pop and inching above the $57 level that's acted as resistance on a closing basis since late September. The security also just reclaimed support from its 80-day moving average, which was a trendline of contention for most of the summer after WFC's May 15, more than six-year high of $62.55. Year to date, shares of the financial institution are up 16.1%, with a 44% year-over-year lead to boot. Wells Fargo is slated to report third-quarter results before the open on Friday, Oct 11.

As for Bank of America stock, it is up 19.2% in 2024 and 54% over the last 12 months. The equity grabbed a more than two-year high of $44.44 on July 17, before a sharp pullback put it just above the $35. The security was last seen fractionally lower at $40.08. Bank of America's third-quarter results are scheduled for release before open on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Finally, Morgan Stanley stock is up 0.2% at $108.10 at last glance. Shares scored a more than two-year high of $109.11 on July 16, and are looking to move above that peak. The stock also boasts a double-digit lead since the start of 2024, helped by four consecutive winning weeks and three-straight months of gains. Morgan Stanley is expected to issue its third-quarter financial figures before the open on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

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