JP Morgan, which is currently valued at about $940 billion, is within striking distance of $1 trillion mark after a strong run in its shares. The stock has gained about 6% so far this year and is up around 20% over the past 12 months. A move past $1 trillion would place JPMorgan in a rare club mostly dominated by technology companies such as Tesla, Meta and Broadcom.

It would also show how far the bank has pulled ahead of its rivals under CEO Jamie Dimon, who has led the lender for nearly two decades.

Record profit lifts shares
JPMorgan shares touched a record high on Tuesday after the bank reported a strong quarterly performance. The lender posted the highest profit ever by a US bank, helped by strength across its businesses.JPMorgan has a larger balance sheet than most peers and has built leadership across investment banking, consumer banking, credit cards, trading and lending. That gives it more ways to benefit when markets improve and when consumer activity remains steady.

The latest boost has come from Wall Street dealmaking. Investment banking activity has picked up as companies return to mergers, acquisitions and capital market transactions. If deal volumes stay strong through the rest of 2026, JPMorgan could see further gains in fees and earnings.CFO Jeremy Barnum said the bank’s investment banking pipeline was robust, adding that current activity levels were encouraging more activity.
Also Read: ‘We faltered, did not move quickly:’ How IBM CEO Arvind Krishna’s statement led to $70 billion wipeout
Jamie Dimon premium
JPMorgan’s rise has also been tied closely to Dimon. Investors have long assigned what is often called a “Jamie premium” to the stock, reflecting confidence in his leadership, risk control and ability to steer the bank through crises.

Dimon took charge before the global financial crisis and helped JPMorgan emerge stronger than many rivals. The bank has since used its size, capital strength and brand to gain market share.

The board has stepped up succession planning in recent years, but Dimon’s influence remains a major part of the stock’s appeal. Investors continue to see JPMorgan as the best-run large US bank.

Valuation test for investors
At around $940 billion in market value, JPMorgan is already far ahead of other global banks. But getting to $1 trillion will also raise expectations.

The stock trades at 14.63 times expected earnings over the next 12 months, compared with 13.58 times for the S&P 500 banks index, according to Reuters.

For years, trillion-dollar valuations were mostly reserved for technology companies. JPMorgan’s push toward that level shows how dominant the bank has become in global finance.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

We recently closed out of our position in Terreno (TRNO) and wanted to walk readers through our thought process and how we look at the company today.

We sold shares on 7/9/2026. For readers interested, we will post all the sales at the end of the article.

Before we sold, Terreno was flirting with the border between our neutral/overpriced ranges. Shares were trading at 31.4x consensus forward AFFO. Technically, it’s probably a little bit lower if we factor in that Q2 2027 AFFO per share will probably be higher than Q2 2026 AFFO per share. However, even adjusting for higher AFFO, the multiple would still be very large.

July 9th Thought Process

Terreno has been one of my favorite REITs for several years. I viewed it as a great long-term position. However, I am looking at shares trading over 30x forward AFFO while the 2-year Treasury is over 4% (4.16% presently), the 10-year is at 4.535%, and the 30-year is at 5.054%. I’m feeling a bit skeptical about multiples around 30x AFFO (or higher) in this environment. If we assume that REITs with more “normal” growth levels typically trade around 14x to 20x AFFO, then we have to assume several years of strong growth. While that’s certainly possible, I wouldn’t want to use it as the base scenario.

AFFO Estimates And Multiple

Our sheets are currently using a forward estimate of $2.19.

If we were to use AFFO estimates for the next 4 quarters starting with Q3 2026, then the consensus estimate would increase to $2.25. That’s better, but not substantially better.

Even if we use the $2.25 value, at $68.68 shares would be trading a hair over 30.5x forward AFFO estimates.

If we use $2.18 or $2.19, the multiple is 31.36x or 31.50x, respectively.

That’s a pretty high multiple given the Treasury yields. While I still really like TRNO, I felt it was prudent to harvest gains here.

Note: TRNO has rallied even higher since we closed our position. As of 7/15/2026, shares are at $72.09.

Why TRNO Can Achieve A High Multiple

Our thesis played out well with the industrial real estate portfolio delivering strong growth in same property NOI (Net Operating Income). That drove significant growth in AFFO per share, which supports TRNO trading at pretty high multiples of AFFO per share. The market likes seeing strong growth across several key indicators. However, the valuation still hit a point where I felt it was prudent to just take the gains.

Issuing Shares

TRNO was issuing equity during Q1 2026:

They felt it was reasonable to issue it at $64.85, and I agree with them. That was a very reasonable price for choosing to issue new equity. Issuing at $68.68 (5.9% higher) would make even more sense. That’s the right choice for management as they look to maximize value for shareholders.

Impact Of Treasury Rates

The last time I purchased TRNO was in 2023 at $62.99. That’s not dramatically lower than the current price. The AFFO multiple was similar. What changed?

Well, the interest rate scenario changed quite a bit as shown by the 10-year and 30-year Treasury rates:

The 10-year Treasury yield is up 60 basis points (that means 0.60%) and currently trending higher (based on the current yield relative to the moving averages). The 30-year is up just over 100 basis points and also in a trend higher.

That feels ugly. It’s been less of an issue for TRNO since they have such little debt on their balance sheet. Consequently, they have been less exposed to interest rate pressure than most equity REITs. However, it makes it harder to justify high multiples.

Adjusted EBITDA/Total Enterprise Value

Doing a full model for “Market Implied Cap Rate” is pretty slow. In theory it seems like it would be quick to update, but in practice it can get messy doing quarter after quarter.

A simpler method is calculating adjusted EBITDA to Total Enterprise Value. It is less precise (which is negative), but it factors in overhead (which is positive).

Often there won’t be preferred stock or minority interest, which makes it even simpler.

The bigger question is simply which version of EBITDA we want to use. Do we use the most recent quarter? Do we try to run a forward estimate? Sometimes the answers matter a great deal, and sometimes they don’t. In this case, the picture is pretty clear regardless. One adjustment I really like to make, though, is to revise “adjusted EBITDA” by deducting stock-based compensation. That’s fundamentally overhead by another name.

Goal Of Calculation

This is a way to approximate the amount of adjusted EBITDA the company is producing relative to the total value assigned to the company.

It can be a quick way to compare REITs. However, investors should be aware that all REITS do not simply deserve to trade at the same valuation. That would be silly. Some properties are simply more desirable, and some management teams are superior. For now I’m simply going to refer to adjusted EBITDA minus stock-based compensation as “revised EBITDA.” I wanted to compare TRNO with Rexford (REXR).

Using Q1 2026, I came to the following estimates when removing stock-based compensation:

• TRNO at $68.62 has a revised EBITDA yield of 3.96%. This is why it makes sense for TRNO to issue shares.

• REXR at $34.42 has a revised EBITDA yield of 6.12%. This is why it makes sense for REXR to repurchase shares.

Note: We don’t want to use growth rates in adjusted EBITDA or revised EBITDA unless we control for the expected change in the shares outstanding and net debt outstanding.

That’s the gap in valuation. It is very material.

Hypothetically, what if REXR climbed all the way to our “overpriced” level? The revised EBITDA yield would drop from 6.12% to 4.79%.

Final Thoughts

I expect that TRNO will do a better job (than REXR) of growing every metric over the next year or two. However, I don’t expect it to be remotely large enough to offset the enormous gap in these valuation metrics.

We currently view TRNO as overpriced despite the company’s strong execution. Even after our sale, shares continued climbing. We’ll continue watching the company closely because it’s still one of my favorite REITs. I simply don’t like today’s valuation. Here is the record of our sale:

Social Security beneficiaries are expected to see a larger cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2027 amid persistently high inflation this year, a new report finds.

An analysis by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) predicts that the 2027 COLA will be 3.8%, or 1 percentage point higher than the 2026 COLA of 2.8%, based on the latest consumer price index (CPI) inflation data released on Tuesday. TSCL estimated that if the projected 3.8% COLA took effect today, average benefits would rise by $73.62 from $1,937.53 to $2,011.15.

The estimate of a 3.8% COLA was the same as last month’s prediction, and is down slightly from the 3.9% projection made in April.

By law, the annual Social Security COLA is calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI inflation data for the months of July, August and September. The announcement of the final COLA amount typically occurs in mid-October with the agency’s release of September inflation data.

NATIONAL DEBT INTEREST AND ENTITLEMENT SPENDING PUSH FY2026 FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICIT TOWARD $2 TRILLION

“We’re seeing inflation on the rise when more than half of seniors already can’t afford basic living standards,” said TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton after the release of the group’s June estimate that also projected a 3.8% COLA for 2027.

“We’re talking about food, a roof over their head, and transportation. Many seniors already have to skip doctor’s appointments due to costs, which costs all of us more in the long run when we swap preventative care for emergency care,” she added.

SOCIAL SECURITY HAS LESS THAN 10 YEARS BEFORE RESERVES ARE EXHAUSTED, NEW TRUSTEES REPORT WARNS

The latest CPI inflation data showed prices were up 3.5% from a year ago in June, a level that’s well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and creates significant pressure on household budgets as wage gains may not keep up with the rising cost of living.

The CPI-W, which is the version of the inflation metric used in calculating Social Security’s COLA, was up 3.5% from a year ago in June.

A larger COLA would also exacerbate the financial issues facing Social Security, which is on a path that would result in the insolvency of a key trust fund that could in turn cause benefit cuts.

AMERICANS RETHINK SOCIAL SECURITY TIMING AS LONGER LIFESPANS AND INSOLVENCY FEARS RAISE THE STAKES

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimated in May that a 3.8% COLA in 2027 would worsen Social Security’s fiscal shortfall by about $300 billion over the next decade and advance the insolvency of a key trust fund by three months from late 2032.

Once the trust fund is depleted, the Social Security Administration will be required by law to cut benefits to match incoming payroll tax revenues, which CRFB estimates will result in a 25% cut for beneficiaries that would “erase almost a decade’s worth of COLA increases.”

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Britain’s biggest companies are getting quicker at paying their bills. New official statistics show the time large businesses take to pay their suppliers has fallen, and the proportion of invoices paid late dropped to 15 per cent in 2025, down from 25 per cent when records began in 2018.

For the small firms that sit at the bottom of long supply chains, the numbers represent rare good news on an issue that has dogged the sector for decades. Late payments cost the economy £11 billion every year and result in thousands of business closures, with the immediate impact falling on owners’ ability to pay staff, cover costs and invest in growth.

The figures, published by the Government this week, draw on data reported under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017, which require large UK businesses to disclose their payment practices, policies and performance twice a year. The information is publicly available, meaning any small supplier can check a prospective customer’s payment record before signing a contract.

The picture is not uniform. London has consistently recorded the shortest payment times and among the lowest proportions of invoices paid late of any region or nation. Manufacturing, by contrast, has consistently reported the longest payment times and the highest proportions of late invoices of any sector, a sore point for the thousands of SMEs supplying parts and services into industrial supply chains.

The improvement comes as the Government’s Commercial Payments (Late Payments) Bill makes its way through Parliament, promising the toughest payment regime in the G7 and the most significant reforms to payment practices in more than 25 years. Business Secretary Peter Kyle has already vowed the legislation will not be watered down in the face of corporate lobbying.

Emma Jones, the Small Business Commissioner, who marked her first year in the role last month, said the figures showed businesses deserved credit for changing their behaviour, but that the job was far from finished.

“Small firms tell me, and our research has shown, that they spend too many precious hours chasing debt. This is limiting capacity to focus on growth, and we want to change that. These figures show that businesses have made a conscious effort to change and improve their payment practices and that should be recognised and celebrated. But the data also shows the need for improvement in key sectors for our economy. I therefore welcome the Commercial Payment Bill and the measures it will take to improve payment performance across the country.”

Her office also manages the Government’s Fair Payment Code, a tiered awards scheme designed to drive best practice and improve payment performance. Signatories include HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds, alongside Heathrow Airport, AstraZeneca, Aviva, AXA, BT and Welsh Water.

The direction of travel is encouraging, though few business owners will be breaking out the bunting just yet. Even at 15 per cent, roughly one in every seven invoices sent to a large customer is still settled late, and UK firms logged record levels of overdue invoices last year, leaving SMEs more than £100 billion out of pocket. The test of the new regime, when it arrives, will be whether that stubborn final seventh can be shifted too.

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London’s business community has given the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech a warm reception on paper and a stark warning in the small print: almost half of the capital’s firms believe the Government’s current approach will make economic growth worse, not better.

Rachel Reeves used her third Mansion House address on Tuesday evening to unveil a package aimed squarely at smaller firms, including a new UK Export Finance guarantee scheme to help small businesses start exporting and an expansion of the British Business Bank’s Growth Guarantee Scheme, more than doubling the SME lending it supports to £3.5 billion a year and increasing the number of businesses helped from 8,000 to 20,000. Lloyds, NatWest and Allica Bank have each committed £1 billion of SME lending over the next three years on the back of the changes.

For the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that is the right medicine. Whether it arrives in time, and survives a change of government, is another matter.

Karim Fatehi OBE, the LCCI’s chief executive, said the Chamber “welcomes measures to improve access to finance for businesses, encourage innovation and strengthen the UK’s position as a global financial centre – positive steps which recognise the vital role London’s business community and economy plays in driving growth in every postcode.”

But the underlying mood among members is far from buoyant. According to the LCCI’s latest survey data, 49 per cent of London businesses believe the Government’s current approach to the economy will worsen UK economic growth.

“The Chancellor was right to emphasise the importance of economic stability,” Fatehi said. “As the country prepares for a new government, maintaining business confidence is critical. The next government must provide early certainty businesses need to plan for the future.”

The focus on SME finance will resonate well beyond the capital. Many smaller firms have ambitious plans to invest and export but, as Fatehi put it, “continue to face significant barriers to securing finance”, a problem compounded by pandemic-era borrowing that has left the average small business debt load at double pre-Covid levels, hampering access to new finance.

The Chamber’s sharpest message, though, was reserved for whoever occupies Downing Street next. “The next government must avoid further increases to the cost of doing business,” Fatehi said, “giving firms the confidence that they will not face additional tax or regulatory burdens, and delivering meaningful business rates reform rather than further delay. Sustainable growth cannot be achieved if rising costs continue to undermine businesses’ ability to operate.”

That call lands on well-trodden ground. Reeves has long acknowledged the case for overhauling a system she admits leaves the economy feeling “stuck”, promising to remove the cliff edges in business rates that penalise small firms taking on a second site. Business groups argue delivery has yet to match the rhetoric.

On Europe, the LCCI backed the Chancellor’s push for deeper ties with the EU, with Fatehi arguing that “London’s internationally connected economy needs a pragmatic new relationship that reduces barriers to trade, improves labour mobility and makes it easier for businesses to operate across borders.” That echoes mounting evidence that post-Brexit trade friction is worsening for exporters, with smaller firms bearing the brunt.

Fatehi’s parting shot was aimed at day one of the next administration. “The priority for the next government must be turning ambition into action, using the policy levers at its disposal to get London growing,” he said. “A thriving capital is fundamental to the success of the UK economy, generating investment, jobs and prosperity across the country. It is essential the new government recognises this from day one.”

For SME owners, the takeaway is twofold. Cheaper, more available credit and export support are on the way. But with a new occupant of No 10 imminent, the price of that support, in tax, rates and regulation, remains anyone’s guess.

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ClearBridge is a leading global asset manager committed to active management. Research-based stock selection guides our investment approach, with our strategies reflecting the highest-conviction ideas of our portfolio managers. We convey these ideas to investors on a frequent basis through investment commentaries and thought leadership and look forward to sharing the latest insights from our white papers, blog posts as well as videos and podcasts.

India’s markets regulator on Wednesday introduced a ​formal recusal framework requiring ​its senior officials to step aside from matters ​where they face personal, professional or financial conflicts.

The framework also allows the public to flag potential conflicts and mandates annual disclosure of ‌recusal data.

Here ⁠are the ⁠key provisions of the stricter code of conduct, introduced after former ​Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch faced ​allegations of conflicts of interest linked to the Adani Group.

* Senior SEBI officials will be required to recuse themselves ​from matters involving family members, relatives, close ⁠friends, associates ‌from the previous three years, professional relationships, ​or ​material financial interests. The regulator defined a material ⁠financial interest as investments of more than 2 million ​rupees in an entity or holdings representing ​over 5% of an official’s total financial investments

* Senior officers, including whole-time members and the chairperson, will be required to disclose their movable and immovable assets to an internal ethics office, which will also be responsible for handling ‌complaints related to potential conflicts of interest

* Disclosure requirements for whole-time members also cover family members, ​relatives, past ​professional interests, assets, liabilities ⁠and investment holdings. Officials will also have to disclose rental arrangements, including tenant names, whether tenants are SEBI-regulated entities.
* SEBI will maintain a digital record of conflicts and recusals and publish annual recusal data. It will include summaries of recusals by the chair, whole-time members, part-time members and senior officials to appear in the regulator’s annual report.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson fell 1.24% on Wednesday, trading at $250.70 as of 12:17 p.m. EDT, down $3.15 on the day, even after the healthcare giant reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year guidance, underscoring how already-elevated investor expectations can outpace even strong quarterly performance.

Johnson & Johnson posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.90 for the quarter, ahead of the Wall Street consensus estimate of $2.85 and up 4.7% from the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $25.31 billion, surpassing analysts’ average estimate of approximately $25.05 billion, according to data from LSEG.

Strong Growth in Key Pharmaceutical Franchises

The company’s better-than-expected results were driven primarily by strong performance from its immunology drug Tremfya and cancer treatment Darzalex, both of which more than offset erosion from older products facing patent competition, along with a decline in sales from the heart pump business Johnson & Johnson acquired through its 2022 purchase of Abiomed.

Regional sales data showed particularly strong performance in the U.S. market, where sales reached $14.53 billion, up 7.3% from $13.54 billion a year earlier. International sales grew 5.7% on a reported basis to $10.78 billion, reflecting continued global demand across the company’s product portfolio.

A Historic Revenue Milestone Within Reach

Johnson & Johnson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joaquin Duato emphasized the significance of the quarter’s results in the context of the company’s broader trajectory toward a major revenue milestone.

“Johnson & Johnson delivered strong second-quarter results, demonstrating the power of our innovation, the depth of our portfolio and the momentum in our pipeline as we advance transformative treatments that address the world’s toughest health challenges,” Duato said. “With raised guidance and quarterly sales surpassing $25 billion, we are on track to meet our 2026 target of more than $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time in our Company’s 140-year history.”

Guidance Raised for the Full Year

Following the strong quarterly performance, Johnson & Johnson raised its full-year 2026 outlook. The company now expects annual sales of approximately $101.1 billion at the midpoint of its guidance range, up from a previous forecast of $100.8 billion. Johnson & Johnson also raised its adjusted earnings per share forecast for the full year to $11.68 at the midpoint of its updated guidance.

Net Earnings Show a More Mixed Picture

Despite the strong adjusted results, Johnson & Johnson’s reported net earnings told a somewhat more complex story. The company posted net earnings of $5.53 billion, or $2.27 per diluted share, essentially flat compared with $5.54 billion, or $2.29 per share, during the same period a year earlier. Adjusted net earnings, which exclude certain one-time items, increased 5.7% to $7.08 billion for the quarter.

Why the Stock Fell Despite the Beat

Johnson & Johnson’s stock decline despite beating both earnings and revenue estimates reflects a pattern common among stocks that have already priced in significant optimism ahead of earnings. Shares had climbed approximately 25.6% year-to-date heading into Wednesday’s report, outperforming broader healthcare sector benchmarks and reflecting strong investor confidence in the company’s pipeline and defensive positioning within a volatile broader market.

With options market participants having priced in an expected post-earnings move of roughly 3.65% in either direction, and the stock already trading at a forward earnings multiple of 21.17 times, exceeding both the broader sector average of 18.49 times and its own five-year historical average of 15.65 times, some investors appear to have used the largely in-line results as an opportunity to lock in gains following the stock’s strong run this year.

Analysts Had Grown Increasingly Bullish

Ahead of Wednesday’s report, several Wall Street analysts had raised their price targets on Johnson & Johnson, citing confidence in the company’s growth trajectory. RBC Capital analyst Shagun Singh Chadha raised her price target to $287 from $265 while maintaining an Outperform rating, pointing to consistent procedural volumes and robust demand across the company’s various business segments.

TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych moved even more aggressively, raising his price target to $300 from $250 alongside a Buy recommendation. Bank of America analyst Jason Gerberry also raised his price target, to $263 from $254, emphasizing what he described as sustainable growth catalysts within the company’s premium pharmaceutical franchises.

A Moderate Buy Consensus, With Some Caution

According to TipRanks data, the overall analyst consensus on Johnson & Johnson stands at a Moderate Buy, based on 11 Buy ratings and four Hold ratings, with an average price target of $273.21. That target implies meaningful additional upside from current trading levels, even after accounting for Wednesday’s pullback.

Not all analyst sentiment has been uniformly positive, however. Stifel analyst Rick Wise has maintained a Hold rating on the stock, even while raising his price target from $220 to $250 earlier this year, reflecting a more cautious overall stance despite acknowledging improving fundamentals.

Ongoing Challenges Remain

Despite the strong quarterly results, Johnson & Johnson continues to navigate several ongoing challenges. The company remains engaged in managing substantial legal liabilities tied to longstanding talc litigation, while upcoming patent cliffs for products including Opsumit and Simponi represent additional headwinds that could affect the company’s growth trajectory in future periods. Additionally, the company’s Stelara franchise continues facing pressure from biosimilar competition, a dynamic that has weighed on that specific product line even as other areas of the portfolio have shown strong growth.

What Comes Next

With Johnson & Johnson now firmly on track toward surpassing $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time in the company’s 140-year history, investors will be watching closely in the coming quarters to see whether the company’s raised guidance translates into sustained stock performance, or whether Wednesday’s muted reaction signals that the market has already priced in much of the near-term optimism surrounding the company’s pharmaceutical pipeline and broader growth trajectory heading into the second half of 2026.