JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday posted record quarterly and annual earnings and revenue, reinforcing the company’s status as the biggest and most profitable bank in U.S. history.

Here’s what the company reported:

The bank said profit rose 50% to $14 billion in the fourth quarter as noninterest expenses fell 7% from a year earlier, when the firm had a $2.9 billion FDIC assessment tied to regional bank failures.

Revenue climbed 10% to $43.74 billion, helped by Wall Street operations and better-than-expected net interest income of $23.47 billion, exceeding the StreetAccount estimate by almost $400 million.

Shares of the bank rose 1.1% in morning trading.

JPMorgan was already the biggest American bank by assets when it won an auction to take over First Republic out of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. receivership in 2023. So while it paid the largest FDIC assessment among its peers a year ago to shore up the deposit insurance fund, it was also a major winner from the regional banking crisis, gaining even more deposits and assets in the tumult.

Fixed income trading revenue jumped 20% to $5 billion, topping the $4.42 billion StreetAcount estimate on rising credit and currency results. Equities revenue climbed 22% to $2 billion, missing the $2.37 billion estimate and underperforming the firm’s rivals at Goldman Sachs.

Investment banking fees jumped 49% to $2.48 billion, topping the $2.39 billion estimate.

CEO Jamie Dimon said in the release that the economy was “resilient,” buoyed by low unemployment and healthy consumer spending, as well as optimism for the Trump administration’s pro-growth agenda.

“However, two significant risks remain,” Dimon said. “Ongoing and future spending requirements will likely be inflationary, and therefore, inflation may persist for some time. Additionally, geopolitical conditions remain the most dangerous and complicated since World War II. As always, we hope for the best but prepare the firm for a wide range of scenarios.”

On a call with reporters, CFO Jeremy Barnum said that net interest income for 2025 would be about $94 billion.

Banks ended the year with several reasons to be bullish: Wall Street activity has picked up at the same time that Main Street consumers remain resilient, while the election victory of Donald Trump has led to hopes of regulatory relief.

While the business is thriving, analysts will likely ask Dimon about his succession planning after his No. 2 executive, Daniel Pinto, said he was stepping down as chief operating officer in June. Dimon signaled last year that he was likely to step down as CEO within five years.

Another question is how the changing outlook for Federal Reserve rate cuts will impact the bank across its sweeping operations. While Fed officials expect two more cuts this year, economic indicators could cause them to pause.

Finally, analysts may press JPMorgan on what it intends to do with a possible windfall of capital if Trump regulators present a gentler version of the Basel 3 Endgame, as potential nominees have supported. Dimon said last May that share buybacks would be muted because the stock was expensive, but they’ve only climbed since.

Besides JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are also out with quarterly and full-year results Wednesday, while Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are due to report Thursday.

Target raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast Thursday after more consumers turned to its stores and website for holiday shopping — particularly on days known for deep discounts.

The big-box retailer now expects comparable sales in the fiscal fourth quarter to grow by about 1.5%. That’s better than its most recent outlook that the metric would be approximately flat. Comparable sales includes sales on Target’s website and stores open at least 13 months. 

Yet the Minneapolis-based discounter did not lift its profit outlook — an indication that deals motivated shoppers. Target anticipates fourth-quarter earnings per share will range from $1.85 to $2.45 and full-year earnings per share will be between $8.30 and $8.90. Target will report full fourth-quarter earnings results March 4.

Target cut its profit guidance in early November after it posted its biggest earnings miss in two years and blamed some of its troubles on softer sales of discretionary merchandise and the costs of preparing for a short-lived port strike in October.

Target’s report is the latest glimpse into a crucial season for the industry. Data so far has suggested it went better than feared, but investors have not been impressed. Lululemon, Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle, for example, all raised their fourth-quarter outlooks Monday, but shares of some of those companies traded lower that day.

Nordstrom on Friday bumped up its full-year sales forecast, but only after a conservative prior outlook. And department store rival Macy’s on Monday said its sales will be at or slightly below the low end of its previously stated range of between $7.8 billion and $8.0 billion.

Holiday retail sales rose 4% year over year to total $994.1 billion for Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, according to the National Retail Federation, the industry’s major trade group. That total excludes auto dealers, gas stations and restaurants.

NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a news release that the spending pace is similar to pre-pandemic growth and was driven, in part, by lower inflation compared with the year-ago holiday season. Holiday spending rose an average of 3.6% from 2010 to 2019.

Yet shoppers are still looking for deals, he added.

“Even though consumers are still relatively healthy and there was a notable increase in spending, they remain budget conscious,” he said.

Discounts and sales events have remained a significant sales driver, as consumers emerge from a more than two-year stretch of high inflation. It’s unclear how much those deals will cut into Target’s and other retailers’ profit margins, and whether sales will keep improving if promotions fade away.

In the combined months of November and December, Target said, total sales increased 2.8% and comparable sales rose 2% year over year. Digital sales grew nearly 9% compared with the year-ago holiday period. 

Some of Target’s growth areas contributed to holiday sales. Its subscription service, Target Circle 360, contributed to a more than 30% year-over-year increase in same-day deliveries in November and December. Sales through the company’s third-party marketplace, Target Plus, grew close to 50% in that time.

Guest traffic increased nearly 3% during the two holiday months from the year-ago period as online and in-person visits rose, the company said. Target said December marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year traffic gains.

Target has made aggressive moves to attract selective shoppers. In May, it said it would cut prices on about 5,000 frequently purchased items, including diapers, bread and milk. And then it announced another wave of price cuts in October on more than 2,000 items during the holiday season, including cold medicine, toys and ice cream. The company said that would amount to more than 10,000 items with price cuts this year by the end of the holiday season.

In a news release Thursday, Target said Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw record-high sales. The company said discretionary categories, especially apparel and toys, saw a “meaningful sales acceleration” when compared with the fiscal third quarter. Those categories tend to be higher margin than essentials such as milk and paper towels, but often go on sale during the holiday season.

In remarks at the NRF’s annual “Big Show” conference Monday, Target Chief Operating Officer Rick Gomez said the company saw a sharp jump in sales on promotional days such as its Circle Week, an event in early October that coincided with Amazon Prime Day.

“It was one of our biggest Circle Weeks that we have ever had,” he said. “But the sales before the week and the sales after the week were lower. There was a dip in sales. The consumer was being very intentional.”

He said U.S. consumers are “working on a budget,” but still are willing to spend on special moments like holidays or on a “must-have item,” such as Taylor Swift’s hardcover book about The Eras Tour. The company sold nearly 1 million copies of the book in the first week of its release.

On Thursday, Target also announced several changes to its leadership team that will start to take effect in early February. Chief Stores Officer Mark Schindele will retire after 25 years at Target and be replaced by Adrienne Costanzo, who is currently senior vice president of store operations.

Chief Information Officer Brett Craig will retire after 15 years with Target and be replaced by Prat Vemana, the company’s chief digital and product officer. And Sarah Travis will become the company’s chief digital and revenue officer, a new leadership role, after serving as senior vice president of Roundel, Target’s advertising business, and social commerce.

Target recently got a new chief financial officer: Jim Lee, the former deputy chief financial officer of PepsiCo, who stepped into the role in late September. He succeeded Michael Fiddelke, who is now Target’s chief operating officer. 

Target is also on track for a leadership change at the top of the company. In fall 2022, Target’s longtime CEO, Brian Cornell, agreed to stay for three more years in a move that required the company’s board to scrap its retirement age. Target has not yet announced when his contract ends and who will be his successor. 

Government inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down last year after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning, federal records show.

Newly released reports from Boar’s Head plants in New Castle, Indiana; Forrest City, Arkansas; and Petersburg, Virginia, described multiple instances of meat and fat residue left on equipment and walls, dripping condensation falling on food, mold, insects and other problems dating back roughly six years. Last May, one inspector documented “general filth” in a room at the Indiana plant.

The U.S. Agriculture Department released the inspection records in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from The Associated Press and other news organizations.

The problems documented at the three factories echo some of the violations found at the Jarratt, Virginia, plant linked to the food poisoning outbreak. The newly released reports describe:

Boar’s Head officials said in an email Monday that the violations documented in the three factories “do not meet our high standards.” The company’s remaining plants continue to operate under normal USDA oversight, they added. The Sarasota, Florida-based company has marketed itself for decades as a premier provider of deli meats and cheeses, advertising “excellence that stands apart in every bite.”

Records from a fourth Boar’s Head plant in New Holland, Michigan, do not show similar problems.

Boar’s Head stopped making liverwurst and shuttered its Jarratt, Virginia, plant in September after listeria poisoning tied to the product sickened more than 60 people in 19 states, including 10 who died.

Health officials in Maryland initially discovered listeria contamination in a package of unopened liverwurst. The company recalled more than 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat deli meat and poultry sold nationwide. About 2.6 million pounds was eventually recovered, according to the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The conditions revealed at the other Boar’s Head plants are “really concerning,” said Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“It’s reasonable for some people to decide they don’t want to eat deli meat,” he said. “Companies like Boar’s Head, they should have to earn consumers’ trust.”

Boar’s Head faces multiple lawsuits connected to the outbreak.

“This makes me extremely angry and sad,” said Garett Dorman, whose mother, Linda Dorman, 73, of Oxford, Pennsylvania, died in July after eating Boar’s Head liverwurst. She had cancer, and liverwurst was one of the few foods she would eat, he said. He is suing the company, according to court documents filed by Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm.

“I believe Boar’s Head needs to completely revamp their program at all of their facilities,” Dorman said in an email. “Boar’s Head needs to put the welfare of people as their highest priority.”

Lawmakers including Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro have sharply criticized USDA officials for not taking stronger action against the company, despite documentation of repeated problems. The USDA inspector general is reviewing the agency’s handling of the situation. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether criminal charges are warranted.

“The new records released by FSIS should be considered by the DOJ, especially as they potentially point to a wider, systemic problem,” the lawmakers said in a statement. “These reports make clear that there is a culture of noncompliance of critical safety and sanitary protocols.”

In a report released Friday, USDA officials said “inadequate sanitation practices” contributed to the outbreak. Product residue, condensation and structural problem in the buildings were key factors, the agency found. State inspectors working in partnership with USDA had documented mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings, and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment, the AP previously reported.

USDA officials have promised new measures to control listeria in plants that make ready-to-eat foods, including broader testing, updated training and tools, increased inspections, more food safety reviews and stronger oversight of state inspectors who act on behalf of the agency.

Boar’s Head is hiring a “food safety culture manager,” according to Frank Yiannas, a former official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who is now advising the company.

Meta is set to cut about 5% of its workforce, focusing on the company’s lowest-performing staffers, CNBC confirmed Tuesday.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg informed employees about the decision to “move out low performers faster” in a memo posted on the company’s internal Workplace forum on Tuesday. Zuckerberg told employees 2025 will “be an intense year.”

The company specified that it is “exiting approximately 5% of our lowest performers” in a separate message posted by a company director. Meta has more than 72,000 employees, according to its most recent quarterly report.

Meta said employees affected by the layoffs will be notified by Feb. 10 and receive severance in line with what the company has provided previously. The cuts represent Meta’s largest layoffs since it eliminated 21,000 jobs, or nearly a quarter of its workforce, in 2022 and 2023.

Bloomberg was first to report the cuts, citing an internal memo.

The move follows several major operational changes within Meta aimed at building closer ties with President-elect Donald Trump.

Last week, Zuckerberg announced Meta would end its third-party fact-checking program in favor of a “Community Notes” model used on Elon Musk’s platform X, where individual users provide more context to posts.

“The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech, so we’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our polices and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said in a video announcement.

Below is Zuckeberg’s internal memo, which CNBC obtained.