According to the annual report by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Wall Street’s pretax profits for the first half of 2024 reached $23.2 billion, representing a significant increase of 79.3% compared to the same period last year. This growth was driven by strong performances in securities trading, underwriting and selling activities.
DiNapoli also noted that based on current trends, annual profits are expected to surpass those of 2023 and contribute significantly to state and city tax revenues. However, he cautioned that there are still uncertainties both domestically and internationally which could impact the industry’s performance in the remaining months of 2024.
While New York saw a healthy growth rate of 7.8% in financial industry employment from 2019 through 2023, other states such as Texas experienced even stronger growth at an impressive rate of26 .6%. Utah had the highest overall growth rate at40 .5%, according to DiNapoli’s report.
In summary,W all Street has seen a nearly80 % rise in profits year over year thanks largely due its strong performance across various sectors.This trend is expected continue throughoutthe remainderof theyearand boost tax revenues for both stateandcity.However,theindustryfacesuncertaintieswhichwillbe closely monitoredbyDiNapoliasweapproachtheendofthefiscalyear.WhileNewYorkhasseenmodestgrowthinfinancialindustryemployment,othersuchasTexasandUtahhaveexperiencedevenhigher ratesofgrowthoverafour-yearperiod.DiNapoliremainsvigilantasthefinancialsectorcontinuestodevelopacrossdifferentregionsintheUnitedStates.
