00:00All right, Jonathan.
00:01Yes, sir.
00:02I know it's early.
00:03Q3 earnings season is upon us here.
00:07Start with the banks, which are the banks of the banks here.
00:11Give us your take on the banking sector, the earnings here, and what you're looking for
00:16for the remainder of Q3 earnings reports.
00:18Yeah.
00:19Historically, earnings help our markets a little bit, settles things down.
00:23I think over quite some time now, the economic numbers that we get from earnings aren't as
00:29important.
00:30It's the outlook moving forward.
00:31And we kind of get these benign statements in earnings reports about what the outlook
00:35is going to be when you're talking about interest rates and geopolitical issues and exposure
00:40that's out there.
00:41So I think earnings are great.
00:44The season does help.
00:45It does add a little euphoria to our markets.
00:48But I think we're kind of still in this very benign way of kind of treading of what next
00:54quarter is going to look like, what the outlook is going to look like.
00:57And I think the earnings, CFOs use that excuse for uncertainty moving forward, which might
01:04spook a little into the markets, and sometimes it is warranted.
01:07But I think overall, what we normally hear, what we look for, yes, is the growth.
01:14But it's more of the outlook moving forward.
01:16And when you're talking about the financials here, financials have had a pretty good run
01:20to them.
01:21It's somewhat choppy at some point.
01:23But I think overall, it's good.
01:24As we're getting towards the end of the year, it's going to be very exciting to see and
01:28interesting to see if M&A activity picks up, right, as we get towards the end of the year.
01:32And we've done this before.
01:34And it's all kind of tied to, you know, the economy and what's going on there and what's
01:40going on in the markets.
01:41M&A has been quiet.
01:43And we're starting to hear a little bit more now of some of these sideline companies that
01:49are starting to kick the tires of starting to go public.
01:52It's kind of a weird dynamic in 2024 now, because as the market has performed well throughout
01:57the year and we've had these bumps along the way, we've taken two steps forward and one
02:01step back, you know, when is that right time?
02:05And as we're getting close to an election, 24 days, and as of now, we don't have to debate
02:10whether the polls are right, but the polls are saying 50-50-ish.
02:15So you know, if you're a company, you're probably more inclined to wait and see what's going
02:20to happen.
02:21But if M&A activity does pick up, whether it's going to be in the, you know, the next
02:25quarter or two, or if they punt it down, down the road, you know, that certainly will help
02:30the banks.
02:31That will come back.
02:32So it might be kind of an early play getting into those banks, because once that M&A activity
02:36starts to really pick up and come into play, we're going to see earnings and revenue.
02:43And that's, you know, for the financials, that's where they make a really decent area
02:47of their money.
02:48I think that's going to be very beneficial for that sector.
02:52What about the institutional customer?
02:53Are they still excited for bank earnings?
02:54Yeah, I'll kind of, I'll kind of date myself.
02:56And I think you guys, you know, remember back when Alcoa was the first learning report that
03:01used to come out.
03:02Klaus Kleinfeld!
03:03And that was, that was like, OK, this is whatever Alcoa says, that's how earnings season's
03:07going to be.
03:08So that goes away.
03:09Then it went to the financials.
03:10You know, Jill, Dennis, I think that what you're saying is right.
03:14I think we kind of look to the financials.
03:17Does it really set the tone?
03:19Maybe, maybe it does.
03:21Maybe it doesn't.
03:22But then you start really waiting for those, those big bellwether name stocks, those household
03:26names, the Apples, the Amazons, the Netflix, the NVIDIAs.
03:30Those are the ones that really get excitement into the market, both from a recognition point
03:36of view.
03:37I think people can really relate to that.
03:39And also from the fact that whether you agree with it or not, those are names that really
03:44kind of move the markets and kind of set the tones for the market.
03:47So they're kind of spread out over time.
03:49I don't think we get that same, you know, lead off batter that we used to get before
03:53in the past that would set the tone.
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