Trade Tracker: Malcolm Ethridge buys JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 15, 2026 at 18:07  |  4:26  |  CNBC
Speakers
Malcolm Ethridge — CIC Wealth Executive Vice President
Bill Brewer — Editor, The Block

Summary

Malcolm Ethridge explains his first-time purchases of JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, arguing the Big Three investment banks should benefit from a strong IPO and M&A cycle and that JPMorgan's credit-card cap selloff was overdone. The panel debates bank earnings, with Bill Brewer positive on Goldman Sachs' monster report but cautious on JPMorgan's investment-banking miss. The clip ends mid-discussion of JPMorgan's credit-card risk.

  • CNBC's Halftime Report panel discussed bank earnings and financial-sector positioning.
  • Malcolm Ethridge bought JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while favoring the Big Three banks.
  • He cited strong IPO activity and blockbuster M&A as the main drivers.
  • He viewed JPMorgan's credit-card cap pullback as an artificial buying opportunity.
  • Bill Brewer praised Goldman Sachs' report and kept it as a largest financial position.
  • Bill Brewer was cautious on JPMorgan's investment-banking revenue miss.
Ideas
Malcolm Ethridge CIC Wealth Executive Vice President 0:44
Big Three banks win on M&A, IPOs.
Malcolm has been championing the Big Three investment banks—JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs—and now favors them because IPO activity remains strong, 2025 saw roughly twice as many IPOs as 2024, and blockbuster M&A deals are expected to continue. These three banks participated in every blockbuster M&A transaction last year, and he argues net interest margin matters less for them than capital-markets revenue, so they should do well regardless of the rate environment.
MS GS JPM HIGH
Bill Brewer Editor, The Block 3:46
Goldman's monster report warrants staying long.
Bill views Goldman Sachs positively after what he calls a monster report that was exactly what he wants to see. Goldman is his largest financial-sector position at about 3.3% of portfolios, and he may buy more if the stock has not run too much.
GS MED
Bill Brewer Editor, The Block 4:03
JPM investment-banking miss worries Bill.
Bill is cautious on JPMorgan: while he agrees investment-banking income will eventually come around, JPM's investment-banking revenue underperformed estimates ($2.35 billion versus $2.55 billion expected), and it was not the usual JPM beat he is accustomed to. He is giving it a mulligan and remains worried about credit-card risk.
JPM MED
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This CNBC video, published January 15, 2026, features Malcolm Ethridge, Bill Brewer discussing MS, GS, JPM. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Malcolm Ethridge, Bill Brewer  · Tickers: MS, GS, JPM