JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Weird Money

Goldman lost billions of dollars on the Apple Card, but maybe it'll work for JPMorgan

Goldman has lost billions on its Apple credit card partnership, but JPMorgan is much better positioned to benefit from a deal.

Jack Raines

9/20/24 11:51AM

In 2019, Apple and Goldman Sachs joined forces to launch what Goldman called “a groundbreaking new credit card.” To quote Goldman Sachs’ website:

With features including no fees, daily cash back and seamless integration into Apple’s mobile devices, Apple Card introduces a new level of privacy, security and transparency to credit cards, allowing consumers to quickly and easily analyze their spending patterns and calculate how much they could save in interest charges by paying off different portions of their balances.
Goldman Sachs is the issuer of the card and is responsible for underwriting, customer service, the underlying platform and all matters related to regulatory compliance through Goldman Sachs Bank USA.

Just four years later, the two companies decided to shut the partnership down, with The Wall Street Journal noting that Goldman had lost “billions of dollars” trying to build out a full-service consumer operation. The issue at hand was that Goldman is not a consumer bank, Goldman is an investment bank that offers wealth management solutions to affluent clients. Through the first six months of 2023, before the companies agreed to shut down their credit card partnership, Goldman generated $15.6 billion in banking and markets revenues, $6.3 billion in asset & wealth management revenues, and just $1.2 billion in platform solutions (the arm that includes its retail consumer-facing offerings such as its Apple credit card), and almost all of that revenue was net interest income. After factoring for provisions for credit losses (regulators require banks to set aside ~7% of projected sales to cover expected losses on new credit cards) and operating expenses, Goldman’s platform solutions arm lost $1.2 billion through the first six months of 2023.

So who is going to buy Goldman’s stake in the credit card partnership, which now has over 12 million users? According to The Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan Chase is now in talks with Apple about replacing Goldman. At first glance, this feels like a more natural fit. JPMorgan has 86 million retail banking customers, and the bank offers credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and consumer banking solutions through its consumer arm, so it has much more experience underwriting retail loans than Goldman.

JPMorgan also poised to negotiate much better terms on its potential partnership than Goldman did. In Goldman’s current deal with Apple, Apple insisted that cardholders get their bill at the beginning of the month, compared to the rolling basis typically used by credit card issuers, overloading Goldman’s customer service reps. Apple also pushed for Goldman to approve as many loans as possible (2008, anybody?), leaving Goldman with losses on many of its loans.

Funny enough, JPMorgan initially passed on the deal because the bank believed its potential cut of profits would be too small. Now, however, JPMorgan has negotiating leverage. Goldman wants to get out of the program, and Apple wants to maintain its 12 million customer card program, but they’ll have to agree with JPMorgan (or any other buyer) on the purchase price of the ~$17 billion in outstanding balances on Apple credit cards. Per The Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan wants to buy the loans at a discount, and Apple has signaled that unlike Goldman, it’s willing to work with JPMorgan on changing the billing dates.

Goldman is almost certainly going to take a loss on its stake in this project: the company is already projecting to take a $400 million hit from transferring its General Motors credit card businesses to Barclays, and that business only had $2 billion in outstanding balances. With $17 billion outstanding on Apple cards, the damage could get ugly.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”