Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks during the Goldman Sachs Investor Day at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Goldman Sachs on Wednesday posted results that topped expectations as its trading operations generated $840 million more in revenue than analysts had expected.
Here’s what the company reported:
- Earnings: $10.91 per share vs. $9.53 per share expected, according to LSEG
- Revenue: $14.58 billion vs. $13.47 billion expected
The bank said that second-quarter profit jumped 22% from a year earlier to $3.72 billion, or $10.91 per share. Revenue climbed 15% to $14.58 billion, roughly $1.1 billion more than the estimate.
Trading desks across Wall Street have benefited this year as President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have roiled markets for bonds, currencies, commodities and stocks. Goldman Sachs, which relies more on Wall Street activities than its peers, is known to have outsized returns during boom times.
Most of the quarter’s revenue beat came from equities trading, which generated $4.3 billion in revenue, a 36% jump from a year earlier and $650 million more than analysts surveyed by StreetAccount expected.
The bank thrived in its role as both a middleman in the equities world, connecting buyers and sellers of stocks, as well as a lender to institutional investors.
Fixed income trading revenue rose 9% to $3.47 billion on higher financing fees and more activity in currency and credit markets, topping the StreetAccount estimate by $190 million.
Investment banking activity in the quarter exceeded expectations at rivals including JPMorgan Chase thanks to a sharp rebound in asset values from April lows.
Goldman said that investment banking fees jumped 26% from a year earlier to $2.19 billion as more advisory deals closed; that haul is $290 million more than the StreetAccount estimate.
The bank’s asset and wealth management division was the sole disappointment in the quarter. It generated $3.78 billion in revenue, 3% lower than a year earlier and $100 million below the StreetAccount estimate. The decline came from lower gains in private equity stakes and debt investments, Goldman said.
Finally, the firm’s smallest division, its platform solutions arm, saw revenue rise 2% to $685 million, topping the StreetAccount estimate by about $12 million.
Shares of the bank have climbed 23% this year before Wednesday.
On Tuesday, JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo each posted results that topped analysts’ expectations for earnings and revenue. On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley reported similarly strong trading results and Bank of America became the sole major U.S. bank to fall short of revenue expectations for the period.