J.P. Morgan's Legal Costs Decline as Predicted by CEO Jamie Dimon

Shares of J.P. Morgan (JPM) are climbing in Tuesday trading after the bank reported a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter profit, as well as a decline in legal costs. Legal costs for the firm have been in focus, as highlighted by CEO Jamie Dimon in his annual letter to shareholders last week. He reminded investors how cheap his company's stock is, noting that J.P. Morgan's stock price has gained only about 35% in the last five years, compared with 76% gains for the S&P 500. Dimon said regulatory burdens and uncertainty about future legal costs are the biggest factors affecting sentiment on J.P. Morgan's stock, adding that these costs will be less of a factor in the future. Those legal costs did decline from $990 million in the fourth quarter to $487 million in the first quarter.