Goldman Sachs posts earnings of $17.01 a share, beating third-quarter estimates
Key Facts
Goldman Sachs reported diluted earnings per share of $17.01 for the third quarter of 2026, beating analysts' expectations, according to its earnings announcement released on October 13. The bank's net earnings for the period were $5.29 billion, supported by equities trading and mergers and acquisitions advisory activity. The bank posted net revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, according to its financial results statement. Earnings per share beat expectations by $3.92, according to Seeking Alpha, putting reported earnings above analysts' estimates for the quarter. Seeking Alpha also reported that revenue exceeded expectations by $1.79 billion, rising 23.1% from the third quarter of the previous year.
Equities trading led business growth within Global Banking & Markets, which posted revenue of $13,458 million in the third quarter, according to the bank's quarterly financial statements. Equities revenue reached $6,441 million, exceeding revenue from fixed income, currencies and commodities within the markets business during the same period. The bank attributed its equities intermediation performance primarily to significantly higher derivatives revenue, according to the presentation accompanying its earnings announcement, identifying that activity as a key driver of performance. Meanwhile, fixed income, currencies and commodities revenue totaled $3,471 million for the quarter, with activity roughly unchanged from the corresponding period. Markets performance thus varied between strength in equities, supported by derivatives, and relative stability in fixed income, currencies and commodities.
Investment banking fees totaled $3,224 million in the third quarter, according to the bank's statement, alongside trading revenue within the broader Global Banking & Markets segment. Advisory revenue reached $1,654 million during the same period, exceeding all other investment banking fees combined. The bank described advisory revenue as a record in the presentation published with its quarterly results detailing business performance and revenue sources. It attributed that level to higher volumes of completed mergers and acquisitions, linking advisory performance to deals completed during the period. This activity added a revenue source alongside equities intermediation, which also benefited from higher derivatives revenue, within Global Banking & Markets.
Outside Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management generated revenue of $5,051 million in the third quarter of 2026, according to the bank's financial disclosure. Management and other fees in the segment totaled $3,587 million, accounting for the bulk of its quarterly revenue alongside its other income sources. Asset & Wealth Management thus ranked behind Global Banking & Markets by revenue among the segments included in the earnings announcement. Platform Solutions posted revenue of $170 million during the period, below revenue in each of the other segments. Platform Solutions revenue declined alongside strength in equities trading and advisory, leaving the businesses with varying contributions to Goldman Sachs' reported quarterly results.
On costs, Goldman Sachs' operating expenses totaled $11,308 million in the third quarter, according to the financial statements accompanying its earnings announcement, against revenue generated during the period. The bank recorded provisions for credit losses of $368 million for the same quarter as part of its reported financial results. For the first nine months of 2026, the efficiency ratio was 59.4%, according to the bank's statement, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The ratio stood at 62.1% in the first nine months of 2025, marking a decline between the periods. On another profitability measure, annualized return on average common shareholders' equity was 18.7% in the third quarter of 2026.
David Solomon placed the quarterly results in the context of the bank's performance since the start of the year, saying Goldman Sachs had achieved "our second-highest quarterly net revenues and record year-to-date net revenues." Solomon's statement combined the third quarter's revenue ranking in the bank's history with the record level of cumulative revenue over the first nine months. Alongside the results announcement, Goldman Sachs disclosed that it returned $4.49 billion in capital to common shareholders during the third quarter. The capital was returned during the same financial period covered by the earnings announcement, according to details in the bank's statement. Goldman Sachs set January 19, 2027, as the date for announcing its fourth-quarter 2026 results, according to its financial results calendar.