Gabelli Funds' Macrae Sykes on key takeaways from Q4 bank earnings

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 15, 2026 at 13:49  |  7:25  |  CNBC
Speakers
Macrae Sykes — Co-founder, CoinDesk

Summary

Macrae Sykes, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, discusses Q4 bank earnings on CNBC's Squawk Box. He argues the negative market reaction to bank results is overdone and sees strong momentum into 2026, though premium valuations and policy uncertainty remain overhangs. He favors Morgan Stanley and gives a more balanced watch on Goldman Sachs while downplaying JPMorgan's investment-banking miss as timing.

  • Q4 bank earnings were generally strong despite a mixed market reaction.
  • Premium valuations, card-fee policy uncertainty, and rotation created technical overhangs for banks.
  • The guest sees improving bank/financial momentum into 2026.
  • Morgan Stanley is favored for wealth-management net new assets, margins, and capital-markets runway.
  • Goldman Sachs is viewed as strong but facing valuation, cyclicality, and peak-earnings risk.
  • JPMorgan's investment-banking miss was attributed to timing rather than fundamentals.
  • Consumer trends are described as K-shaped but not falling off a cliff.
Ideas
Macrae Sykes Co-founder, CoinDesk 0:39
Bank earnings are strong into 2026.
The negative market reaction to Q4 bank earnings is not justified. Q4 results were by and large strong and look good for 2026, with accelerating momentum, high execution, supportive GDP and lower cost of capital, and engaged capital markets. Premium valuations, policy uncertainty around card fees/Card Act, and rotation from large-cap tech/financials into lower financials created technical overhangs, but the earnings backdrop remains positive.
KBE HIGH
Macrae Sykes Co-founder, CoinDesk 5:59
Likes Morgan Stanley on wealth-management momentum.
He likes Morgan Stanley here. Its wealth group blew out net new assets at $120 billion, with 31.5% margins, continued strong execution after Jim Gorman built out the digital and asset-management architecture, and a long runway in capital markets issuance and M&A, with sponsors still yet to kick in. He expects a fruitful year for areas Morgan Stanley would benefit from, with a strategic update due at 8:25.
MS HIGH
Macrae Sykes Co-founder, CoinDesk 6:59
Goldman setup balanced; watch valuation and cycle.
Goldman Sachs has done extraordinarily well and the firm has not owned enough of it, but he is watching valuation, cyclicality, and potential peak earnings. Some earnings could be compressed in the first half as investors discount the midterm elections, while heightened IPO and capital-markets activity could follow; the setup depends on how much weight is given to those cycle and valuation risks.
GS MED
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This CNBC video, published January 15, 2026, features Macrae Sykes discussing KBE, MS, GS. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Macrae Sykes  · Tickers: KBE, MS, GS