Pretax profit at Wall Street financial institutions totaled $45.9 billion in January-June 2026, up from $30.4 billion a year earlier. That marks a 51.3% increase, according to a report by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The regulator said the first-half result was the highest on record and has already surpassed its earlier forecast for all of 2026. It had previously expected full-year profit to fall 30% to $45.3 billion.
If the current pace holds, annual profit for Wall Street financial institutions could exceed $90 billion and top last year’s record of $65.1 billion. DiNapoli said the sector has been supported by a boom in spending on artificial intelligence technologies, stronger mergers and acquisitions activity, and heavy trading volumes.
He added that the industry has remained resilient despite geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. The report tracks pretax profit from broker-dealer operations of firms registered on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Their number now stands at 168, compared with more than 200 before the 2007 global financial crisis.
Wall Street financial institutions contributed at least $26.3 billion to the New York State budget in fiscal 2026, which ended in March. That was up 28.5% year on year and includes taxes paid by both firms and their employees.
