As most working Americans struggle with rising costs and stagnant wage growth, workers in New York's securities industry are on track to notch another year of record bonuses, according to a new report from the state's comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

While the office didn't speculate how big any bonus increase would be, it's basing its forecast on surging profits among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange, which are expected to rake in $90 billion in profits, or nearly 50% more than last year's $65 billion.

For comparison, the industry's average annual salary was $561,770 in 2025, up 11% from the prior year, with the bonus pool hitting a record $49.2 billion.

The estimates are based on profits from securities firms for the first half of the year.

"Despite spikes in market volatility related to geopolitical conflicts, questions over the impact of artificial intelligence, and escalating federal policy actions related to tariffs, immigration and government funding," DiNapoli wrote in his report, "firms continue to see increases in all revenue lines except for commodities trading, which has likely been impacted by increased crude oil prices."

Earnings reports from major banks kick off next week, with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posting results on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Several others will report later in the week, including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and Charles Schwab.

Those reports will be critical, not only in showing how well each individual firm is doing, but perhaps more importantly, their outlook for the rest of the year.

DiNapoli's report cited numerous risks to sustained profit levels, not least of which is "outsized contributions of the burgeoning AI sector." Any slowing of the AI juggernaut, along with the dealmaking and capital spending associated with it, would be a big blow to the banks' bottom lines.

The reports should also show which firms are best positioned to handle any potential downturn amid the ongoing war in Iran and worries about elevated inflation and interest rates.