Goldman Sachs reported higher third-quarter profit as volatile markets tied to the Middle East conflict lifted its equities revenue. Investment banking fees and asset and wealth management revenue also rose, while fixed income trading slipped 1%.
Goldman Sachs posted a higher third-quarter profit as steady dealmaking and volatile markets tied to the Middle East conflict boosted its equities revenue. Total profit was $5.29 billion, or $17.01 per share, for the three months ended September 30, against $4.10 billion, or $12.25 per share, a year ago.
Equities trading drives the quarter
The bank's equities business posted a 72% jump in quarterly revenue to $6.44 billion. US equity markets were volatile during the quarter, driven by the Federal Reserve's September interest rate hike, rising fuel costs and a selloff in chip stocks.
However, the fixed income, currency and commodities business reported $3.47 billion in revenue, down 1% from a year ago. CEO David Solomon said the bank was expecting a softer number from that unit in the third quarter.
According to Solomon: "we remain very well positioned to continue to deliver for our clients."
Investment banking holds through a dealmaking slowdown
Goldman's investment banking division navigated a brief slowdown as M&A activity in the third quarter fell 41% from the prior three months to $993 billion, LSEG data showed. Even so, investment banking fees rose 21% from a year ago to $3.22 billion, helped by higher debt and equity underwriting and an 18% jump in advisory revenues.
The bank acted as joint lead bookrunner for Intel's $23 billion equity offering and global coordinator for SK Hynix's $26.5 billion US offering. On a sequential basis, fees dropped 5%.
Wealth management adds to revenue
The asset and wealth management division, which houses the bank's private credit fund, reported a 14% jump in its revenue. That helped total revenue rise 23% to $18.68 billion.
Goldman's private credit fund said in September that investor requests to pull money stayed under the threshold 5% cap for the second straight quarter. Shares climbed about 1.5% in volatile trading before the bell and have gained about 1.7% so far in 2026, underperforming Morgan Stanley and the S&P 500.
Source: Investing.com
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