The largest U.S. banks posted substantial fourth-quarter revenue and profit gains thanks to a resurgence in Wall Street dealmaking. Citigroup, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS all surged over 10% YTD. JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley hit new high after earnings.

The Financials sector is reporting the highest (year-over-year) earnings growth rate of all eleven sectors at 50.7%. At the industry level, 4 of the 5 industries in the sector are reporting year-over-year earnings growth. All four of these industries are reporting double-digit growth: Banks (216%), Capital Markets (51%), Consumer Finance (50%), and Financial Services(14%). On the other hand, the Insurance (-6%) industry is the only industry reporting a year-over-year decline in earnings.

The Banks industry is also the largest contributor to earnings growth for the sector. A large number of companies in this industry are benefitting from easy comparisons to weaker (GAAP) earnings reported in the year-ago quarter due to significant charges related to FDIC special assessments and other items that were included in their GAAP EPS. If this industry were excluded, the blended earnings growth rate for the Financials sector would fall to 18.8% from 50.7%.