Form 10-K Report Analysis of JPMorgan Chase & Co

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📝 Subject:	Accounting
📑 Pages:	16
✍️ Type:	Essay

Abstract
Introduction
Balance Sheet
Current Assets and Liabilities
Analysis of Crucial Financial Indicators of the Form 10-K Report
Conclusion
Reference

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a financial statement analysis through the evaluation of the ‘Form 10-K’ report of JPMorgan Chase & Co. As a result, this paper focuses on the annual financial reporting of the company in 2016 to analyze the balance sheet, the current assets and liabilities, and some other crucial financial indicators of the 10-K report, such as the income and cash flow statements. It is important to note that JPMorgan Chase is a US-based multinational financial institution (and one of the six leading organizations in the globe in terms of assets) that generated a turnover of more than ninety-six billion US Dollars in 2015 by using its expertise in areas of asset management, treasury services, investment banking, and private banking. This investigation would facilitate the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s investment environment, the valuation of its overall financial performance, and the estimation of its upcoming opportunities and potential threats by means of a thorough interpretation of its profitability drifts, and comprehension of its operational and funding behaviors.

Introduction

It has been reported that being the market leader in the US financial service sector, the company’s total assets and shareholders’ equities were respectively $2400 billion and $247600 million at the end of 2015, and during this period, it was able to serve millions of national clients, eminent institutions, and governments from around the world (JPMorgan Chase, 2016). Throughout the last five years, the financial performance of the company improved significantly from an overall point of view and the differences are reasonably perceptible through the following table, which briefly illustrates the condensed financial highlights of the company from 2011 to 2015. To be precise, the net income of the company developed from 18,956 in 2011 to 21,259 in 2012 and from 21,745 in 2014 to 24,442 in 2015, demonstrating the gradual and sustainable augmentations in the annual turnover:

Integrated financial highlights for five years
All the figures in US Dollar millions	2015 *	2014 *	2013 *	2012 *	2011 *
Overall net revenue	93,543	95,112	97,367	97,680	97,843
Overall non interest costs	59,014	61,274	70,467	64,729	62,911
The earnings prior to provision	34,529	33,838	26,900	32,951	34,932
Provision for credit deficit	3,827	3,139	225	3,385	7,574
Earnings before income-tax costs	30,702	30,699	26,675	29,566	27,358
Income-tax expenditure	6,260	8,954	8,789	8,307	8,402
The net income	24,442	21,745	17,886	21,259	18,956

Table 1: Condensed financial highlights from 2011 to 2015. Source: JPMorgan Chase (2016).

Balance Sheet

According to JPMorgan Chase (2016), the company has observed a nine percent decrease in its total assets at the end of the year since the figures have lowered from $2,572,274 in 2014 to $2,351,698 in 2015. At the same time, the company’s assets from other sources lowered by three percent and dropped to $102,098, while the amount of the rest of the intangible assets diminished by 15 percent (both figures are incorporated in the table below). In addition, a huge decline has been observed in the value of the ‘rights of mortgage servicing’, which fell from $7,436 in 2014 to $6,608 in 2015, representing a decrease of 11 percent. However, more disappointingly, the worth of the company’s goodwill has dropped from $47,647 in 2014 to $47,325 in 2015. Some essential evaluations of the balance sheet figures of the last two years demonstrate that the plunges of the accumulated interests and account receivables were as high as 33 percent since the total figure had diminished from $70,079 to $46,605. Nevertheless, in contrast, the reduction rate was about five percent in case of the worth of premises and machinery. The debt and equity devices together valued $284,162 by the end of 2015, even though the figure was about $320,013 in 2014, and this manifested a decline of 11 percent.

The total derivative receivable amounts, on the other hand, lowered by 24 percent, whilst the securities plunged from $348,004 to $290,827 (representing a drop of 16 percent), and the total loans unacceptably increased from $757,336 to $837,299 (symbolizing a rise of 11 percent). It is important to state that the company has experienced a significant fall of 30 percent in the number of bank deposits because it fell from $484,477 to $340,015 in 2015. In addition, the securities in the form of loans and the cash and unpaid amounts from banks diminished by 11 percent and 26 percent respectively, and the figures are provided in the table below:

Comparison of the balance sheet figures of last two years
End of the year, (all figures in US Dollar millions)	2015 *	2014 *	Percentage change *
Comparison of the Assets
Cash and unpaid amounts from banks	$20,490	$27,831	26 percent
The deposits in banks	$340,015	$484,477	30 percent
Central funds sold and securities bought because of resale contracts	$212,575	$215,803	One percent
Securities in the form of loans	$98,721	$110,435	11 percent
Comparison of the trading assets
The debt and equity devices	$284,162	$320,013	11 percent
Total derivative receivable amounts	$59,677	$78,975	24 percent
The securities	$290,827	$348,004	16 percent
Total loans	$837,299	$757,336	11 percent
Payment authorized for loan losses	$13,555	$14,185	Four percent
Loans (the net payment authorized for loan losses)	$823,744	$743,151	11 percent
Accumulated interests in addition to accounts receivable	$46,605	$70,079	33 percent
Consideration of premises and machinery	$14,362	$15,133	Five percent
Consideration of goodwill	$47,325	$47,647	One percent
Rights of mortgage servicing	$6,608	$7,436	11 percent
Rest of the intangible assets	$1,015	$1,192	15 percent
Assets from other sources	$105,572	$102,098	Three percent
Total assets	$2,351,698	$2,572,274	Nine percent
Comparison of the Liabilities
Total deposits	$1,279,715	$1,363,427	Six percent
Central funds bought and securities borrowed or sold for resale contracts	$152,678	$192,101	21 percent
Total commercial paper	$15,562	$66,344	77 percent
Other funds from loans	$21,105	$30,222	30 percent
Comparison of the trading liabilities
The debt and equity devices	$74,107	$81,699	Nine percent
Total derivative amounts payable	$52,790	$71,116	26 percent
Accounts to be paid in addition to other liabilities	$177,638	$206,939	14 percent
The beneficial interests from variable interest entities	$41,879	$52,320	20 percent
The long-term debt amount	288,651	276,379	Four percent
The figure of total liabilities	$2,104,125	$2,340,547	10 percent
The shareholders’ equities	$247,573	$231,727	Seven percent
The sum of total liabilities and shareholders’ equities	$2,351,698	$2,572,274	Nine percent

Table 2: Changes in balance sheet data from 2014 to 2015. Source: Self generated from the data in JPMorgan Chase (2016).

By the end of December 2015, the figure of total liabilities of JPMorgan Chase decreased from $2,340,547 to $2,104,125 (demonstrating a reduction of 10 percent), whilst the shareholders’ equities lowered by seven percent, and the sum of total liabilities and shareholders’ equities dropped from $2,572,274 to $2,351,698. The pessimistic performance also caused an augmentation of four percent in the long-term debt as it rose to 288,651 in 2015, compared to 276,379 in 2014. It is notable that irrespective of all these downturns, the payable accounts and other liabilities have lowered by 14 percent, and the total derivative amounts payable reduced by 26 percent. The debt and equity devices, on the other hand, fell from $81,699 to $74,107 (which shows a cutback of about nine percent), and at the same time, other funds from loans lowered by 30 percent. In addition, the company’s total deposits plunged by six percent (from $1,363,427 in 2014 to $1,279,715 in 2015) and the central funds bought and securities borrowed or sold due to resale contracts decreased by 21 percent.

It is apparent that in comparison to the previous year, the balance sheet of the company turned out to be much weaker by the end of December 2015. Although the company’s net income and earnings increased in 2015, the other important indicators of the balance sheet lowered significantly within one year. However, the fall in the figure of the total liabilities and the rise in the shareholders’ equities still provide an opportunity to perceive the consolidated balance sheet of the company with an optimistic outlook. In order to comprehend the fiscal performance of the company more profoundly and evaluate whether the weakening balance sheet is representing declining corporate strengths, it is necessary to consider the financial ratios. In certain areas, the analysis of the key ratios would help the company to identify the underlying causes behind the dropping figures of the balance sheet:

Analysis of the overall financial strengths
End of the year, all figures in US Dollar millions (except ratios and per share data)	2015 *	2014 *	2013 *		2012 *	2011 *
The market-capitalization	$241,899	$232,472	$219,657		$167,260	$125,442
The common shares at the end of the period	3,663	3,714	3,756		3,804	3,772
High-share prices *	$70.61	$63.49	$58.55		$46.49	$48.36
Low-share prices *	$50.07	$52.97	$44.20		$30.83	$27.85
The financial ratios and metrics for the last five years
The return on assets ratio *	0.99	0.89		0.75	0.94	0.86
The return on the tangible common equity	13 percent	13 percent		11 percent	15 percent	15 percent
The return on common equity	11 percent	10 percent		Nine percent	11 percent	11 percent
The high quality liquid-assets (the figures in US Dollar billions)	$496	$600		$522	$341	Not applicable
The loan to deposits ratio	65 *	56 *		57 *	61 *	64 *
The common-equity tier-1 capital ratio	11.8 percent	10.2 percent		10.7 percent	11.0 percent	10.0 percent
The overhead ratio	63 *	64 *		72 *	66 *	64 *
The total capital ratio	15.1	13.1		14.3	15.2	15.3
The tier-1 leverage ratio *	8.5	7.6		7.1	7.1	6.8

Table 3: Financial strengths of the company from 2011 to 2015. Source: Self-generated from the data in JPMorgan Chase (2016).

It is apparent that the company’s high-share prices increased gradually throughout the last five years since the values have developed from around $48 in 2011 to about $70 in 2015. In addition, the low-share values also augmented steadily during the period as the prices improved from about $27 in 2011 to around $50 in 2015. The improvements in share prices indicate that in spite of the diminishing balance sheet figures, the investors are confident about the company’s financial position. Moreover, it is notable that the return on asset ratio has also developed significantly in recent years, which indicates the fact that JPMorgan Chase has turned out to be more profitable in relation to the capitalization of assets and the business leaders are ensuring proficient handling of the assets for engendering higher turnovers at comparatively lower investments. Although the return on the tangible common equity diminished slightly, the return on common equity remained constant since 2011, whilst the loan to deposits ratio developed from 56 in 2014 to 65 in 2015, and the total capital ratio and the tier-1 leverage ratio demonstrated signs of improvement.

Current Assets and Liabilities

Although the total assets of JPMorgan Chase lowered in 2015 in comparison to 2014, its total liabilities plunged drastically as well; therefore, the company’s current ratio has developed by more than one percent in 2015, as shown in the table below:

Assets, Liabilities, and Current ratio
End of the year, (all figures in US Dollar millions)	2015 *	2014 *	Change Percentage *
Total assets	$2,351,698	$2,572,274	Nine percent
Total liabilities	$2,104,125	$2,340,547	Ten percent
Current ratio = current assets / current liabilities	2,351,698 / 2,104,125 = 1.117	2,572,274 / 2,340,547 = 1.099	1.64%

Table 4: Current ratios of the company in 2014 to 2015. Source: Self generated from the data in JPMorgan Chase (2016).

It is essential to denote that current ratio determines a business’s capacity to reimburse its liabilities, and so a higher ratio means that the firm has more potential and has greater amounts of assets than liabilities; as a result, if the ratio falls below one percent, the business is likely to go insolvent due to poor financial position. On the other hand, if the current ratio increases excessively, the company is likely to undergo adversities because under such circumstances, it would be unable to use the current assets competently; as a result, at present, the liquidity position of JPMorgan Chase is quite stable, indicating a good financial condition. The company has reported that a number of factors have influenced the current assets and liabilities in 2015, and brief assessments of those external issues are provided in the table below:

Analysis of the factors that influenced the current assets and liabilities
Interest rate alterations	Certain alterations of the interest rates in the US economy caused the value of assets and liabilities to fluctuate, causing changes in the balance sheet data and hampering the profits generated from the net interest income
Lowering values of derivatives	Diminishing values of commodity derivatives, interest rate derivatives, and foreign exchange and equity derivatives caused the amounts of receivables and payable to fall because of shifts in the market, causing changes in the assets and liabilities
Customer oriented risk management strategies and volatile market environment	In some cases, the operating assets and liabilities fluctuated considerably under the usual course of trade because of the capacity and schedule of the cash flows, and this in turn was influenced by customer oriented risk management policies and unstable market conditions
Sudden changes in the consumer behaviors and buying patterns	Poor consumer confidence in the industry and falling sales in the consumer market have significant impact on the institutes operating in the banking and financial sector; as a result, JPMorgan Chase also confronts the adverse effects associated with it through fluctuating demand patterns, which in turn leaves some strains over the corporate assets
Falling revenues from overseas markets	The company offers its services to numerous multinational corporations and foreign governments; as a result, falling revenues from those markets due to political or economic factors frequently cause the assets and liabilities to fluctuate

Table 5: Factors that affected current assets and liabilities of JPMorgan Chase. Source: Self generated.

It is important to state that JPMorgan Chase continuously develops and renews the fiscal policies in order to defend the external risks in the market; however, in certain situations, it becomes impossible to control the market environment. Moreover, a number of internal risks are able to exert significant pressure on the assets, liabilities, balance sheets, and income statements of the company as a whole. The following table contains an analysis on how some of these risks hamper the financial statements as well as the information on the risk management metrics:

Financial statements and the external and internal risks
External and internal risks	How the financial statements are hampered	The risk management metrics
The market risks	Unfavorable transformations in the variables of the market, for example, equity values, exchange rates, credit crunches, taxation rates, and falling demands can damage the balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements of the company	Value at risk method, sensitivities
The capital risks	If the company has inadequate amount of capital to maintain the commercial actions at the time of volatile monetary atmosphere, the cash flows are likely to suffer	Capital ratios based on risk assessment and complementary leverage-ratios
The risk of legal barriers	If the company fails to strictly follow the national and international laws and trade agreements, the concerned authorities can impose restrictions on the operations, hampering the revenues and income statements	Bank Secrecy Act, employment regulations, data protection
The risk of liquidity	If the company fails to fulfill its liability obligations and contractual undertakings due to poor revenues or inadequate assets, it would suffer from liquidity crisis or bankruptcy	Current ratio and other liquidity ratios
The risk of country	If an independent action transforms the terms and conditions regarding trade in an overseas country under an agreement, the business would have to increase expenditure in lawsuits, lowering the total revenues	Risk-ratings based on capital restrictions
The risk of erroneous models	If the company decides the upcoming financial policies or evaluates the current financial positions based on some erroneous accounts or mistreated models, it would confront extremely unpleasant consequences in the future years	Model-tier
The operational risks	The company can suffer losses due to insufficient and unsuccessful operational procedures, faults by workers, or external factors that hamper the day-to-day operations	External and internal control system, main risk-indicators, and operational metrics
The legal risks	As a financial institution, JPMorgan Chase is highly susceptible to the risk of losses due to compensations and penalties arising from non-conformity to legally binding contracts or national environmental or corporate governance laws	Not applicable
The risks associated with foreign exchange rates	Fluctuating exchange rates can have enormous impact over organizations that are operating in the financial and banking sector; as a result, the assets and liabilities of JPMorgan Chase are frequently disturbed by these instabilities	Net open position *
Risk on corporate reputation	Even slightest operational mistakes can damage the company’s reputation, which in turn can cause the clients to lose confidence over its service quality; in addition, this would lessen the value of goodwill in the balance sheets	Not applicable

Table 6: The risks that hamper the financial statements. Source: Self generated from the data in JPMorgan Chase (2016).

Analysis of Crucial Financial Indicators of the Form 10-K Report

It is apparent from the consolidated income statement data below that in 2015, the company has observed a decline of two percent in the net revenues and a decline of four percent in the non-interest costs. However, the net income of the company increased by 12 percent in 2015 in comparison to the previous year, whilst the return on common equity ratio augmented by one percent. It is crucial to state that the net income amplified due to the decrease in the taxation rates and non-interest expenditures, and this was counterbalanced by diminishing revenues and rising credit losses; in addition, the net revenues dropped because of the shrinking equity gains and falling turnovers in the consumer and community banking sector, and the corporate and investment-banking sector. However, the decline in the equity was balanced by the profit from a legal settlement in the advanced operating-lease area of the consumer and community-banking sector; at the same time, the noninterest costs reduced significantly due to the falling expenditure in the corporate and investment-banking sector (which represents an operational simplification and cost-effectiveness of the business segment). Because of all these alterations, the overhead ratio of the company reduced in 2015; however, the credit deficits enlarged by the end of the year due to a rise in the wholesale provisions, even when the national economy developed because of rising costs of property and lower unemployment levels:

Evaluation of the consolidated income statement
End of the year, all figures in US Dollar millions (except ratios)	2015 *	2014 *	Percentage change *
The total net revenues of the company	$93,543	$95,112	Two percent
Total non interest costs	$59,014	$61,274	Four percent
The earnings prior to provision	$34,529	$33,838	Two percent
Provision for credit deficit	$3,827	$3,139	22 percent
The net income of the company	$24,442	$21,745	12 percent
The ROCE ratio	11 percent	10 percent	One percent
Income statement of the consumer and community banking sector
Lending and deposit related costs	$3,137	$3,039	$2,983
Asset management and others	$2,172	$2,096	$2,116
Costs of mortgage and related-income	$2,511	$3,560	$5,195
Card income of the sector	$5,491	$5,779	$5,785
Other incomes generated	$2,281	$1,463	$1,473
The non interest revenue *	$15,592	$15,937	$17,552
Net interest income *	$28,228	$28,431	$28,985
Total net revenue of the business sector	$43,820	$44,368	$46,537
Provision for credit deficit	$3,059	$3,520	$335
The non interest expenditure *
Compensation cost	$9,770	$10,538	$11,686
The non compensation cost	$15,139	$15,071	$16,156
Total non interest expenditure	$24,909	$25,609	$27,842
Income before income tax cost of the sector	$15,852	$15,239	$18,360
Cost of income tax	$6,063	$6,054	$7,299
Net income of the business sector	$9,789	$9,185	$11,061
Financial ratios of the business sector
The ROCE ratio of the business sector	18 percent	18 percent	23 percent
The overhead ratio of the business sector	57	58	60
Income statement of the consumer and business banking sector
The non interest revenue	$7,541	$7,174	$6,744
Net interest income	$10,442	$11,052	$10,668
Total net revenue of the business sector	$17,983	$18,226	$17,412
Provision for credit deficit	$254	$305	$347
Total non interest expenditure	$11,916	$12,149	$12,162
Income before income tax cost of the sector	$5,813	$5,772	$4,903
Net income of the business sector	$3,581	$3,443	$2,943
The ROCE ratio	30 percent	31 percent	26 percent
The overhead ratio of the business sector	66	67	70
Income statement of the card, commerce solutions, and auto sector
Total net revenue	$19,020	$18,316	$18,889
Net income	$4,430	$4,074	$4,907
The ROCE ratio of the business sector	23 percent	21 percent	31 percent
The overhead ratio of the business sector	44	45	43
Equity	$18,500	$19,000	$15,500
Income statement of the corporate and investment banking sector
Total net revenue of the business sector	$33,542	$34,595	$34,712
Total non interest expenditure	$21,361	$23,273	$21,744
Net income	$8,090	$6,908	$8,850
The ROCE ratio of the business sector	12%	10%	15%
The overhead ratio of the business sector	64	67	63

Table 7: The evaluation of the income statement. Source: Self generated from the data in JPMorgan Chase (2016).

In the consumer and community-banking sector, the net revenue was $43,820 in 2015, $44,368 in 2014, and $46,537 in 2013, which means that the figure has dropped considerably in last year. On the other hand, this business segment has confronted a gradual rise in the lending and deposit related costs from $2,983 in 2013, to $3,137 in 2015; moreover, the costs of the mortgage and related income declined from $5,195 in 2013 to $2,511 in 2014, before reaching $3,560 in 2015. The net-interest income has dropped from $28,985 in 2013, to $28,431 in 2014, to $28,228 in 2015, whilst the other generated income has increased from $1,473 to $2,281, and the non-interest revenue has diminished from $17,552 to $15,592 in 2015. The provision for credit deficit has increased from $335 in 2013 to $3,520 in 2014, but again declined to $3,059 in 2015; however, the business unit has remained successful in lowering the cost of compensation from $11,686 in 2013 to $10,538 in 2014 to $9,770 in 2015.

The total non-interest expenditure has optimistically lowered from $27,842 in 2013, to $25,609 in 2014, to $24,909 in 2015; moreover, the income before income tax dropped from $18,360 to $15,852 in 2014, and then again to $15,239 in 2015. On the other hand, the ROCE ratio of the business sector has lowered from 23 percent in 2013 to 18 percent in 2015, whilst the overhead ratio has gradually decreased from 60 in 2013, to 58 and 57 in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The diminishing overhead ratio denotes that the company is performing efficiently and cost-effectively, which is an optimistic indication; conversely, the cost of income tax has also lowered in recent years, and this would help the business unit to achieve economies of scale.

In the consumer and business-banking sector, the non-interest revenue has increased from $6,744 in 2013 to $7,174 and $7,541 in 2014 and 2015 respectively; however, the net interest income has lowered from $11,052 to $10,442 in 2015. It is crucial to note that the total net revenue of the business sector has decreased from $18,226 in 2013 to $17,983 in 2015, while the provision for credit deficit gradually has decreased from $347 in 2013 to $305 in 2014, and $254 in 2015. On the other hand, the total non-interest expenditure has also declined from $12,162 in 2013 to $12,149 and $11,916 in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and diminishing expense is a huge incentive for businesses operating in the banking and financial sector. However, the income before income tax has also increased from $4,903 in 2013 to $5,813 in 2015; conversely, the net income of the business sector has augmented from $2,943 in 2013 to $3,443 and $3,581 in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

It is notable that the ROCE ratio of the consumer and business-banking sector has also increased steadily from 26 percent in 2013, to 31 percent and 30 percent in 2014 and 2015; in addition, the overhead ratio has diminished from 70 in 2013, to 67 in 2014, and 66 in 2015. The card, commerce solutions, and the auto sector have observed an increase in the total net revenue from $18,316 in 2014 to $19,020 in 2015; conversely, the revenue of the corporate and investment banking sector has lowered from $34,595 in 2014 to $33,542 in 2015.

The comparison between the income statements of the different business segments in the table above suggests that the consumer and community-banking sector of JPMorgan Chase possesses the most efficient and skilled financial configuration as it is able to engender much larger revenues than the other segments. At this stage of the report, it is essential to consider the consolidated cash flow statements of the company succinctly in order to compare the crucial indicators from 2013 to 2015. According to JPMorgan Chase (2016), the cash flows of the day-to-day operations, accessible via tenable sources, are adequate to fulfill the regular liquidity needs of the company; however, in 2015, the cash generated by the operational activities ensued from a reduction of assets, whilst the cash gathered from investment actions resulted in declining bank deposits:

Consolidated cash flow statements
End of the year, all figures in US Dollar millions	2015 *	2014 *	2013 *
Net cash afforded
Operational actions	$73,466	$36,593	$107,953
Investment actions	$106,980	$165,636	$150,501
Financial actions	$187,511	$118,228	$28,324
The impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on cash flows	$276	$1,125	$272
Net decline in cash and payable from banks	$7,341	$11,940	$13,952

Table 8: The statement of the cash flows. Source: Self-generated from the data in JPMorgan Chase (2016).

Conclusion

The financial coverage of JPMorgan Chase in its 10-K report allows a methodical and precise analysis of the financial statements of the company, helping the evaluation of its annual performance. It is notable that in comparison to 2014, the indicators of the balance sheet were much weaker in 2015; in addition, the current assets and liabilities and the statement of cash flows also declined significantly during the same period. However, amazingly, the current ratio of the company improved appreciably due to a decrease in liabilities, whilst the revenues and other incomes also increased slightly. Moreover, the financial ratios in the 10-K report indicate that the company is still in an impressive monetary position, and it has the potential to encourage more investments in its projects while expanding its business further in the global markets.

Reference

JPMorgan Chase. (2016). Form 10-K JPMorgan Chase & Co. Web.