The stocks of money center banks are mixed in early afternoon trading on Friday as heightened uncertainty makes it difficult for management to give shareholders clear direction on where the business is headed for the rest of the year.

The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index (BKX) slipped 0.5%, while the KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index dipped 1.1%.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) stock rose a solid 3.5% as it reaffirmed its 2025 guidance for net interest income, excluding markets, and delivered beats on both Q1 earnings and revenue. It's also seen as the strongest bank to weather any potential downturn.

Its capitalization remains strong with a standardized common equity tier 1 ratio of 15.4%, said Jonathan Weber, Investing Group Leader for Cash Flow Club. "To me, this suggests that risks are relatively low at JPM thanks to its strong capital levels, while a surplus of capital also means that JPMorgan could likely ramp up shareholder returns if it wants to," he said.

In JPMorgan Chase's (NYSE:JPM) earnings call, Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon expects the uncertainty resulting from the tariff drama and other government policies to spur many companies to be cautious on guidance. "My guess is, a lot will remove it," he told investors. "They're going to tell you what they think it might do to their customers, their base, their earnings, their cost, their tariffs. It's different for every company."

From his observation, "a lot of people are not doing things because of this. They're going to wait and see," he said. That applies to M&A and hiring plans, as they adjust to a new environment.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stock rose 0.4%, after its Q1 earnings and revenue also beat consensus estimates on strong equity revenue and healthy client assets, even as it increased its provision for loan losses.

Trust bank BNY (NYSE:BK) also turned in a double-beat for the quarter. Its stock gained 1.4%.

In regional banks, there were few gainers. U.S. Bancorp (USB) edged up 0.1% and Bank OZK (OZK) increased 0.3%. However, PNC Financial (PNC) fell 0.6%, Flagstar Financial (FLG) -2.6%, KeyCorp (KEY) -1.5%, Truist Financial (TFC) -1.8%, and Regions Financial (RF) -1.6%.

However, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) stock dropped 1.5% after the bank turned in a mixed quarter, with earnings topping the average analyst estimate, but revenue falling short.  Steve Booyens of Pearl Gray Equity and Research said he sees a pivot, "where asset-liability duration management will be challenging; additionally, our allowance and provision outlook is dim."

Other U.S. banks that have yet to report remained in the red. Citigroup (NYSE:C) slipped 1.2%, Goldman Sachs (GS) edged down 0.3%, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) fell 0.7%.

For a more bullish view on banks, look north of the U.S. border. Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) stock gained 2.5%, Royal Bank of Canada (RY) rose 2.4%, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) gained 1.4%.

European and UK bank stocks also fared better than their U.S. counterparts. Deutsche Bank (DB) climbed 3.0%, Banco Santander (SAN) +2.0%, HSBC Holdings (HSBC) +2.5%, Barclays (BCS) +1.3%, and UBS Group (UBS) +2.5%.