Projections indicate significant bonus increases for wall street professionals in 2025

New projections released Tuesday morning suggest that bankers and traders on Wall Street are poised to receive substantial increases in their year-end bonuses for 2025. These heightened earnings are attributed to the massive financial success generated by the surge in AI investment, as firms assisted hyperscalers and frontier AI companies with various financing activities, including stock and debt issuances. According to the third-quarter projections from compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates, investment bankers specializing in equity sales, trading, and underwriting are expected to see the largest pay jumps. While the report notes that bonus growth in private equity could range from zero to 7.5%, the overall trend shows significantly higher bonuses compared to the previous year for the third consecutive year. Johnson Associates, which has tracked these figures for 25 years, bases its estimates on public filings and client discussions. However, the report also cautions that this upward trend might be nearing a peak, citing accelerating AI-driven job cuts in the industry, with one source predicting fewer personnel in the coming years.