Wall Street's two most outspoken CEOs said the U.S. is more than prepared to withstand an economic downturn.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and his Morgan Stanley counterpart, James Gorman, both said Thursday that they aren't steering their firms toward shelter even as they see a confluence of global events denting the economy in the months ahead.
"The consumer right now is in great shape," Dimon said on a conference call discussing his company's second-quarter results. "So even if we go into a recession, they're entering that recession with less leverage and in far better shape than they did in '08 and '09."
Gorman, on his bank's earnings call, said a deep or dramatic recession in the U.S. is unlikely, and Morgan Stanley is "long the U.S." in most of its businesses. "The U.S. is a great region to be in the world."
Those verdicts come even as second-quarter results at both JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were hurt by a slowdown from the pandemic-era bonanza that gave them record revenue and profits.
Risks abound, with soaring inflation spurring central banks around the world to dial back the easy-money policies that had pushed markets to all-time highs. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, along with worries about food and energy security as well as political instability across regions, are also keeping investors on edge.
"If I had to use one word to describe it, it would be 'complicated,'" Gorman said on the challenges facing the global economy. He said that "Europe is fighting the hardest," with the dual threat of the war in Ukraine and pressure on gas prices that's been particularly problematic for countries such as Germany.
Dimon, meanwhile, said his previous forecast for a looming economic "hurricane" hasn't changed, but that health of the American consumer offers a possible break in the clouds.
