Wall Street profits climbed more than 51% in first half of 2026, far surpassing projections

Profits for Wall Street firms are on track to outperform state and city projections even as broader concerns like the ongoing Iran War, tariffs and automation drive overall economic uncertainty, a state report found.

The growth was largely fueled by spending on artificial intelligence, increased mergers and acquisitions and higher levels of trading, according to a report from Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released Thursday

"Despite geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, the industry has remained resilient," DiNapoli said in a statement announcing the findings. "Barring a recession or major market disruption, strong profits should continue to provide an important boost to state and city revenue."

Pre-tax profits for securities firms in New York City reached $45.9 billion during the first six months of 2026, more than 51% higher than for the same period last year. The pre-tax profits are already higher than the $45.3 billion the industry was expected to make for the full year.

For comparison, profits during the January-through-June period in 2025 reached $30.4 billion, the report from DiNapoli's office showed.

On Long Island, the average salary for securities employees was $476,050 in 2025, with industry workers in Suffolk having the highest average in the state at $662,910 and employees in Nassau seeing an average of $301,120. the report found.

Profits from broker/dealer firms in New York City help determine end-of-year bonuses for employees, 5.3% of whom commute from Long Island. Spending by bonus earners remains a driver of Nassau County's economy and the East End real estate sector.

Profits for the full year could surpass $90 billion this year, according to the report's projections. Full-year profits for all of 2025 totaled a record $65.1 billion, according to the report.

Adelphi economics professor Mariano Torras said the increased profits among brokers/dealers in the securities sector was more indicative of financial speculation than actual economic productivity.

“The remarkable increase in securities industry profits is mostly a consequence of an unprecedentedly rapid rise in equity prices, a stock market boom that many experts … consider to be unsustainable,” Torras said in an emailed response.

Torras described Wall Street’s performance as “not a favorable development.”

“There is very little if anything ‘economic’ – in the sense of production and employment – going on to explain the rise,” he said. “Rapid AI development – mentioned in DiNapoli’s report – accounts for much of this equity bubble.”

Beyond benefiting firms directly, Long Island and the state benefit overall from the collection of income taxes on profits on Wall Street and worker bonuses, DiNapoli’s report showed.

Employment in New York City's securities industry grew to 207,400 in 2025, an increase of 7,000 jobs and a record high since employment tracking began in 2000. The report shows that while the overwhelming majority of industry jobs are in New York City, an estimated 8,000 wereon Long Island in 2025.

Statewide, taxes on profits and industry salaries made up 20.8% of all state tax collections in fiscal year 2025-2026, or $26.3 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, according to the comptroller’s office.

Overall, 88.3% of taxes collected from securities-related state tax receipts came from personal income taxes collected in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the report showed.

Steven Kent, economics professor at Molloy University, said while Wall Street’s performance has been “impressive” during the first half of the year, it remains to be seen whether that momentum can continue as the year continues.

“Historically, Wall Street can be very volatile and even though we’ve had higher levels of transactions and higher levels of trading volume, that can slow down very quickly,” Kent said.

Kent suggested that higher interest rates “could slow things down” and make investors “more selective” as yearend approaches.

And while Kent pointed to the “multiplier effect” that high industry wages and bonuses can have on the Long Island and state economies, like more tax dollars and increased discretionary spending that supports local businesses, it doesn't mean the average Islander isn't struggling with the high cost of living.

“The stock market is not necessarily the economy,” Kent said.