Goldman Sachs beat analysts’ expectations for third-quarter profit and revenue on strength in its investment banking and investing and lending divisions.
The bank reported $6.28 per share in earnings, exceeding the $5.38 estimate and compared to $5.02 a year earlier, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Revenue of $8.65 billion exceeded the $8.4 billion estimate on better-than-expected results in most divisions apart from trading.
Chief Executive Officer David Solomon, 56, officially took control of the bank just as the quarter ended on Oct. 1. Before that, he rearranged the company’s top managers, promoting insiders who had spent time with him in investment banking roles. He named John Waldron as the bank’s president and chief operating officer and Stephen Scherr the firm’s chief financial officer.
“We delivered solid results in the third quarter driven by contributions from across our diversified client franchise,” Solomon said in the earnings release. The company’s earnings per share for the first nine months of the year were the highest in its history, he added.
Solomon’s main challenge is to make good on a plan to boost revenue by $5 billion by broadening its banking and trading client base, finding growth in smaller markets and pushing into retail products like personal loans. Part of that plan has been to send partners to locales including Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, and Toronto to shrink the distance to clients.
The bank’s shares have fallen 6 percent in the last month and are about 21 percent below its high this year. Concern over lackluster trading revenue and slowing activity in mergers markets is weighing on Goldman and its investment bank rival Morgan Stanley more than other banks.
