Despite March's banking crisis, big banks beat estimates across the board: JPM, WFC, PNC, C

Forget about March! While that month may have taken a sledge hammer to regional banks like First Republic (FRC) and PacWest Bancorp (PACW), the big national banks on Wall Street made a killing. Higher interest rates on variable loans helped JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C) and PNC Financial (PNC) beat Wall Street earnings estimates by a mile.

Bank earnings: JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, PNC Financial, Citigroup

JPMorgan reported first quarter earnings of $4.10 per share on revenue of $38.3 billion. This beat Wall Street consensus of $3.41 per share on revenue of $34.77 billion. Revenue rose 25% YoY largely on higher interest rates charged to variable rate borrowers. JPM stock surged 5.7% to $136.34.

Wells Fargo earned $1.23 per share, beating consensus by 11 cents. Revenue of $20.73 billion bested Wall Street by $670 million and rose 18% YoY. WFC stock jumped 4.1% to $41.28 on the news.

PNC Financial reported Q1 earnings of $3.98 per share, overachieving consensus by 34 cents. Revenue of $5.6 billion missed consensus by just $10 million but rose 19% YoY. Net interest income dropped about $100 million YoY due primarily to higher funding costs. PNC stock rose 0.5% to $122.

Citigroup reported $1.86 in adjusted EPS, which beat consensus by 17 cents. Revenue of $21.4 billion beat consensus by $1.34 billion and rose 12% YoY. Citigroup stock rose 1.5% to $48.

Despite the good news, all four banks raised their allowances for credit losses in the quarter.

Bank stock chart

The KBW NASDAQ Bank Index is down 19.2% year to date. The only one of these four stocks underperforming is PNC, which is a major bank but more regional than the other three. PNC stock is down 24% year to date. Citigroup was the best performing and is up 3% year to date. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are down 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively. 

KBW NASDAQ Bank Index daily chart