Goldman Sachs beats quarterly profit estimates on equities strength — SkimNews
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- Goldman Sachs beat Q3 profit estimates with earnings of $17.01 per share on $5.29-billion in total profit, comfortably clearing the $13.02 consensus as equities revenue jumped 72% to $6.44-billion on volatile markets driven by the Fed's September rate hike, rising fuel costs, and a chip-stock selloff.
- FICC revenue came in lighter at $3.47-billion, down 1% year-over-year — a print Argus Research analyst Stephen Biggar called 'somewhat expected' even as investment banking delivered a 'clear beat relative to consensus.'
- Investment banking defied a broader market slowdown with fees rising 21% to $3.22-billion and advisory revenue hitting a record; Goldman served as joint lead bookrunner on Intel's $23-billion equity offering and global coordinator on SK Hynix's $26.5-billion US offering, and also advised Nvidia on its $3.5-billion MediaTek investment.
- Private credit withdrawal requests at Goldman's fund stayed under the 5% threshold for a third straight quarter, easing AI-disruption-driven redemption pressure that has hammered other private credit players.
- CEO David Solomon, who has led the firm since 2018, is reportedly planning to step down with COO Waldron (age 57, ~30-year Goldman veteran) positioned to take over as soon as next year, per the Wall Street Journal — a transition the bank declined to comment on.
- Goldman shares gained about 1.7% year-to-date through the report, underperforming both Morgan Stanley and the S&P 500, even as JPMorgan Chase posted a rare quarterly profit miss on softer investment banking and trading.
Why it matters: Goldman's equities desk — its traditional strength — extracted unusually heavy revenue from a quarter shaped by Fed-driven volatility and Middle East tensions, while advisory fees hit a record despite M&A volume falling 41% quarter-over-quarter industry-wide. The earnings beat provides cover for an unusually eventful news cycle that also includes a WSJ-reported CEO succession plan from Solomon to Waldron.
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