By
Steve Muchoki
May 9th, 2024
JPMorgan (JPM) stock has lost nearly 5% of its weight as news that the company’s CEO will be away after his emergency surgery makes the rounds. In the premarket, the stock is 3.48% down.
American multinational investment bank and financial services company JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) recently informed its staff of the CEO’s health issues. In a note to employees all over the world, the bank said that CEO Jamie Dimon underwent emergency heart surgery to prevent his health from deteriorating any further. The note was written in high spirits and specified that the JPMorgan CEO was doing well and recovering properly. Regardless, JPM stock closed lower yesterday and even dropped further in premarket trading.
JPMorgan CEO Recovers
According to reports, Dimon, 63, was preparing for work on Thursday when he started feeling unusual chest pains. He then visited a hospital in Manhattan where doctors decided he needed emergency surgery to repair an acute aortic dissection. A Wall Street Journal report says that Dimon then began sending several emails before the procedure began.
In the note to staff written by Co-Presidents and Co-COOs Daniel Pinto and Gordon Smith, the CEO was doing just fine.
“We want to let you know that Jamie experienced an acute aortic dissection this morning. He underwent successful emergency heart surgery to repair the dissection. The good news is that it was caught early and the surgery was successful. He is awake, alert and recovering well.”
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)’s MedlinePlus portal, aortic dissection is an abnormal tear in the wall of the major artery that carries blood away from the heart. The condition is usually serious and can cause blood to enter the space between the blood vessel walls.
JPMorgan (JPM) Stock
JPMorgan (JPM) stock has not enjoyed price movements as many other stocks have. Even with the heavy threat of the coronavirus which wiped out a significant portion of earnings, some stocks still have gains for 2020.
JPM has lost 18.24% this year and almost 17% in the last 1 month. In response to the CEO’s health, it closed at $113.97 yesterday after losing 4.91%. JPM has crashed further in after-hours trading, currently at $110 after losing 3.46%.
Hopefully, if Dimon keeps responding favorably to treatment, investors might renew their faith in the stock.
Temporary CEO Succession
For as long as Dimon would be unable to perform his duties, both Pinto and Smith will be at the helm of affairs. In the memo, the duo expressed their readiness to take up the task, assuring staff of their involvement with Dimon’s work.
“As Co-Presidents and Chief Operating Officers, we have been working hand-in-hand with Jamie and the Board over the past two years to help lead our company…We have also been deeply involved in all of the critical firmwide functions.”
The duo became co-presidents back in 2018. At the time, the plan was that they would both take over if Dimon was ever unable to perform his duties for any reason.
Dimon became JPMorgan CEO in December 2005 and was named Chairman and President a year later. He is currently the longest-serving CEO of a major bank in the U.S. and earns more than other CEOs. Dimon received $31.5 million in 2019.
Ranking by assets, JPMorgan is the largest bank in the U.S. and the sixth-largest bank in the world.