Goldman Sachs (GS): Quarterly profit rises 29% as share-trading revenue jumps 72%

Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment bank, earned $5.29 billion in the three months to 30 September, up 29% from a year earlier, as revenue from trading shares for clients rose 72% to $6.44 billion. Profit per share was $17.01, which includes a charity donation of about $450 million that management says cost about $1 a share.

What happened

On Tuesday 13 October, Goldman Sachs reported results for the third quarter of 2026, the three months ended 30 September. Net revenues, the bank's total income after the interest it pays out, were $18,679 million, which is 23% more than the $15,184 million of a year earlier but 8% less than the $20,338 million of the second quarter. Net earnings, the profit after all costs and tax, were $5,294 million, against $4,098 million in the same quarter of 2025. Chief financial officer Denis Coleman said on the results call that the quarter included an accelerated charitable contribution of about $450 million, which cut earnings by roughly $1 a share; management also expects another "meaningful" contribution in the fourth quarter, according to a call transcript published by The Motley Fool.

The strength came from the markets business, where Goldman trades shares, bonds and currencies for clients. Revenue from equities, meaning the trading and financing of shares, was $6,441 million, up from $3,736 million a year earlier. Within that, equities financing, which is lending money to hedge funds and other investors so they can hold larger share positions, was $3,365 million, almost double the $1,716 million of a year ago. Advisory fees, paid for guiding companies through takeovers, were $1,654 million, up from $1,404 million. Revenue from trading bonds, currencies and commodities was $3,471 million, essentially unchanged from $3,493 million.

The numbers, explained

Here is our working, using the company's own tables. Net revenues rose $3,495 million ($18,679M less $15,184M), which is 23.0%. Net earnings rose $1,196 million, or 29.2%. Diluted earnings per share, which is profit attributable to common shareholders divided by the average number of shares including those that could be created from share awards, was $17.01 against $12.25, up 38.9%. The per-share gain is larger than the profit gain because the bank has fewer shares: 301.1 million diluted shares against 315.0 million, a fall of 4.4%, helped by buying back its own stock. These are reported figures under US accounting rules (GAAP), not adjusted ones. Management's own "about $18" per share excluding the donation is a company estimate and not a GAAP figure.

Costs grew more slowly than profit. Operating expenses were $11,308 million, up 19.6% from $9,453 million, so profit before tax rose faster, from $5,392 million to $7,003 million, up 29.9%. Our working: $7,003M divided by $18,679M is a pre-tax margin of 37.5%, against 35.5% a year ago ($5,392M divided by $15,184M). Transaction-based costs, such as exchange and clearing fees that rise with trading volume, grew 53.5% to $3,021 million. The charity gift sits in other expenses, which were $1,098 million against $559 million in the previous quarter. The provision for credit losses, money set aside for loans that may not be repaid, was $368 million against $102 million in the second quarter, which the bank attributes to impairments on wholesale (business) loans; Coleman called them "highly idiosyncratic and noncorrelated," meaning specific to individual borrowers, per the transcript.

Why it matters

Goldman earns money in three main ways: fees for advising on deals and selling new shares and bonds (investment banking), commissions, spreads and financing from trading with clients (markets), and management and performance fees on money it looks after for others (asset and wealth management). This quarter shows how much the markets business can swing results: equities revenue rose $2,705 million year on year, which is more than the entire $1,196 million rise in profit. Financing is a steadier kind of income than trading, because the bank earns interest on balances rather than relying on price moves; across bonds and shares combined, financing revenue for the nine months was $12,717 million by our working ($3,485M plus $9,232M), about 40% of the $31,257M that FICC and equities earned together ($12,074M plus $19,183M).

The asset and wealth side also grew. Asset and Wealth Management revenue was $5,051 million, up 14.3% from $4,418 million, with management and other fees at $3,587 million, up 21.9%. Assets under supervision, the client money the bank manages or advises on, reached $4,097 billion against $3,452 billion a year earlier. Two areas weakened: Platform Solutions revenue, which includes the Apple Card portfolio now held for sale, fell 72% to $170 million after markdowns on those loans, and the investment banking fees backlog, the pipeline of deals not yet completed, was lower than at the end of the second quarter. For rivals, we have not compared other banks' figures here, so we draw no sector conclusion. Geographically, Asia produced $3,800 million of revenue, up 89.9% from $2,001 million, and 20% of the total against 13% a year ago.

What to watch next

Goldman declared a dividend of $5.00 per common share on 12 October 2026, payable on 30 December to shareholders on record at 2 December. In the quarter the bank returned $4.49 billion to shareholders: $3.00 billion of share buybacks (2.9 million shares at an average of $1,048.73) plus $1.49 billion of dividends. Its common equity tier 1 ratio, a measure of the highest-quality capital the bank holds against its risks, was 12.4% on the standardised measure, down from 12.9% at 30 June, as risk-weighted assets grew from $791 billion to $817 billion. The fourth-quarter donation that management flagged will show in the next results; we have not found a confirmed date for those, so check the company's investor relations page.

• Key terms in plain words
• Net revenues: total income after the interest the bank pays on its borrowing.
• Equities financing: lending to investors so they can hold larger share positions.
• Backlog: investment banking fees expected from deals announced or planned but not yet completed.
• Common equity tier 1 ratio: the bank's core capital as a share of its risk-weighted assets.

Sources

• Goldman Sachs Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1: Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Results (SEC)
• The Motley Fool: Goldman Sachs (GS) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• TradingKey: Goldman Sachs Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Revenue Hits $18.7 Billion
• Investing.com: Earnings call transcript: Goldman Sachs tops Q3 2026 estimates as revenue rises