Here’s Why JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Shares Are Exploding

JP Morgan kicked off earnings season for large banks and the company topped the Street’s expectations with Q2 results.

For the second quarter, the bank posted a profit of $1.55 per share, compared to estimates of $1.43 a share. The bank also reported better-than-expected revenue of $25.2 billion.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said outside of energy, credit quality “remained very good” in the second quarter. The bank had a 10% jump in consumer deposits and soared to record highs with strong credit card sales volumes and broad core loan growth at 16%.

The company’s workforce has grown by about 5,500 since the end of last year as it added more tellers and bankers at branches, commercial bankers and staff to support technology.

Head count rose by 1 percent in the last quarter from a year earlier, to more than 240,000 staffers. The bank also said that compensation expenses increased slightly.

Dimon announced this week that 18,000 of JPMorgan’s lower-tier employees will get pay increases from $12 an hour to $16.50 an hour. This will depend on factors like geography and the markets where they work.

Regarding the pay increases, Dimon said the move is “the right thing to do.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and have not been compensated for this article.