A number of high-level JPMorgan Chase executives are about to make their first public statements since the bank made major changes to its management earlier this year. Wall Street should get a new look at a group of longtime leaders at JPMorgan on Monday, who are seen as possible successors to CEO Jamie Dimon.
Marianne Lake, who is now the only head of consumer and community banking, and Jennifer Piepszak and Troy Rohrbaugh, who are the new co-CEOs of a commercial and investment bank that was recently expanded, are seen as the front-runners in that race. They are all set to speak at the day of business updates in New York City.
This week, Barclays analysts led by Jason Goldberg, who have a positive view of JPMorgan stock, wrote in a report about the upcoming event, “We expect all eyes to be on the next generation of leadership.”
Dimon, 68, is one of the longest-serving and most well-known CEOs of a financial firm. For years, rumors have been going around JPMorgan and Wall Street about who will take over from Dimon. It is a question that comes up a lot at these investor days every year. In the past, Dimon has said in a sly way that he will always stay on for “five more years.”
But in January, there was more talk about who seemed most likely to be the best person to run the company in the future after key executives seen as potential CEOs were given more duties. Core business units were moved around. This spring, there were more changes in management.
Analysts are also looking at the special package that JPMorgan gave Dimon in July 2021. It included 1.5 million options in the form of stock appreciation rights and was meant to keep the CEO in charge of JPMorgan for a “significant number of years” at the request of the board.
The company says that the options can’t be used before July 2026, which is five years after the day they were granted. That makes a retention award, and Dimon is about halfway through it.
“After making some changes earlier this year, we will get to see a lot of managers in their new jobs.” In particular, we’ll be keeping a close eye on three people, said Piper Sandler analyst Scott Siefers in a client note about the investor day. Siefers rates JPMorgan stock positively.
They are Lake, Piepszak, and Rohrbaugh, three officials he thinks are “on the shortlist” to take over for Dimon one day. Siefers wrote that the event will be “a great chance for investors to see them in their new roles and learn more about how things might go in the coming years.”
As usual, the middle of the second quarter will bring updates on the business and a look at performance and priorities.
For example, investors want to know if the bank will raise its closely watched net interest income projection and give investors new information on how it plans to use its extra capital. In a note to clients, Betsy Graseck, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said that she doesn’t think the bank’s medium-term goals will “change.”
Graseck thinks the stock will do well over the next twelve months and is “not pounding the table” before investor day. In the short term, she thinks that JPMorgan could underperform if they don’t raise their guidance for net interest income, minus the markets business, next week.
This year, JPMorgan shares have gone up about 20%, which is more than the 11% gain in the S&P 500. The stock price and the index price are both very close to all-time highs.
Traders will be thinking about other things on Monday, like what’s for lunch. During the 2023 investor day, just a few months after JPMorgan bought the troubled lender during the regional banking crisis that spring, First Republic’s famous chocolate chip cookies were served.
