YCharts:: Wells Fargo: The Thrill of Being Boring
Notice the trend [in JPMorgan’s data]? That’s right, there is no trend – except up-and-down, up-and-down. It’s a perfect picture of the volatility that comes with a big trading and investment banking operation, which JPMorgan Chase certainly has. In this case, it’s relatively successful, but highly unpredictable.
[embedded JPMorgan and Wells Fargo earnings-per-share chart]
Now look at the trend here, and try to ignore the last 11 data points (the financial crisis and its aftermath), for Wells Fargo. Through the third quarter of 2007, it’s an almost uninterrupted line, rising ever-so-slightly each period. It’s almost boring. And that’s the point.
