JPMorgan Says AI Token Costs Will Rise but Remain Trivial This Year

JPMorgan Chase disclosed during its second-quarter 2026 earnings call on July 14, 2026, that it expects a meaningful acceleration in artificial intelligence (AI) token expenses in the second half of the year. Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said the cost remains trivial for the first half of the year, and that the full-year contribution is still expected to be trivial despite the anticipated increase.

Barnum said the company is working to route AI tasks to appropriately sized models rather than defaulting to the most expensive options available. As an example, he said summarizing lengthy analyst reports does not require the latest, most costly model. The company said it has built infrastructure over the past couple of years to support this kind of model selection, including the use of open source tools where appropriate.

The AI commentary came alongside a standout quarter. JPMorgan reported net income of $16.9 billion and EPS of $6.14, with return on tangible common equity of 23%. Revenue rose 15% year-over-year, driven by markets, investment banking and asset management, while expenses climbed a similar 15% to $27.3 billion on higher volume-related costs and continued investment. Investment banking fees were up 30% year-over-year, and equities trading revenue jumped 86%.

The bank raised its full-year net interest income guidance to approximately $105.5 billion and now expects full-year adjusted expenses of about $107.5 billion, alongside a lower forecast for card net charge-offs of roughly 3.2%.