JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) shares slipped lower Wednesday despite reporting fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street's expectations. Sometimes good news just isn't enough when regulatory uncertainty looms over your business.

The Numbers Tell a Solid Story

The banking giant delivered net income of $13.0 billion, or $4.63 per share, down 7% year over year. But the adjusted earnings per share of $5.23 handily beat the $4.92 analyst consensus. That 60-cent difference? It relates to a $2.2 billion credit reserve the bank set aside for its forward purchase commitment of the Apple credit card portfolio.

Looking forward, JPMorgan expects fiscal 2026 net interest income around $103 billion, with net interest income excluding Markets coming in at approximately $95 billion.

Goldman Weighs In

Goldman Sachs analyst Richard Ramsden reaffirmed his Buy rating and $386 price target on the stock. Even though revenues came in lighter than expected, JPMorgan managed to hit earnings targets through disciplined expense management.

What really caught Ramsden's attention was the impressive loan growth, up 4% sequentially. That strength supported the bank's better-than-expected net interest income guidance, the analyst noted.

Based on these results, Ramsden bumped up his 2026 and 2027 Performance Profitability Net Revenue estimates by 2% and 3%, respectively. He also raised his EPS projections by 3% thanks to higher net interest income and fee income expectations, and introduced 2028 EPS forecasts.

The analyst expects JPMorgan to maintain Return on Average Tangible Common Equity above its roughly 17% medium-term target, with 2026 and 2027 projections around 20% and 21%, respectively.

The Range-Bound Reality

Here's the catch: Despite maintaining his Buy rating and $386 price target, Ramsden thinks the stock will trade sideways for a while. The reason? Regulatory uncertainty around potential credit card APR limits and the Card Competition Act. Until there's more clarity on how those policies might affect JPMorgan's credit card business, investors will likely sit on their hands.

JPMorgan Chase shares were down 1.00% at $307.80 Wednesday afternoon.