Goldman Sachs beats estimates on better-than-expected investment banking, bond trading

David Solomon, CEO Goldman Sachs, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on April 22nd, 2025.

CNBC

Goldman Sachs on Tuesday beat estimates for its third quarter on stronger-than-expected investment banking and fixed income trading.

Here’s what the company reported:

Earnings per share: $12.25 vs. $11 expected, according to LSEG
Revenue: $15.18 billion vs. $14.1 billion expected, according to LSEG

The company said in a release that profit surged 37% from a year earlier to $4.1 billion, or $12.25 a share. Revenue rose 20% to $15.18 billion.

Investment banking was the engine for Goldman’s beat this quarter, with fees jumping 42% to $2.66 billion, or roughly $500 million more than what analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had expected.

Trading desks across Wall Street have benefited as President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have roiled markets for bonds, currencies, commodities and stocks. Investment banking activity including mergers and IPOs has also gained steam, with revenue climbing 22% in the third quarter, per Dealogic.

Goldman Sachs gets the majority of its revenue from Wall Street activities including trading and investment banking. The bank cited more completed mergers and debt underwriting deals for its third-quarter revenue increase.

Fixed income trading revenue rose 17% to $3.47 billion, topping the StreetAccount estimate by about $280 million, on greater activity in interest rate products, mortgages and commodities.

But the bank’s equities traders appear to have underdelivered compared to expectations, producing a 7% increase in revenue to $3.74 billion, about $160 million below the estimate.

On Monday, Goldman announced it was acquiring Industry Ventures, a venture capital firm with $7 billion in assets under supervision, to bolster its asset management division.

Shares of the bank were down about 2% in premarket trading Tuesday. They’ve climbed 37% this year as of Monday’s close.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup also released earnings Tuesday, with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley set to report results Wednesday.