Goldman Sachs equity revenue jumps 72% in third quarter
Goldman Sachs reported a 72% annual increase in equities revenue to $6.44 billion as its third-quarter profit reached $5.29 billion. Investment banking fees also rose, but total revenue was lower than in the preceding quarter. That difference separates strong annual trading growth from the sequential slowdown after the bank’s unusually large second quarter.
Economics & Markets··Evening
Equities drive annual revenue growth
Goldman Sachs earned $5.29 billion in the third quarter as its equities business generated $6.44 billion in revenue, 72 per cent more than a year earlier. An independent account described the same increase in profit and the strong trading contribution. The bank’s total net revenue reached $18.68 billion, up 23 per cent annually. The sizeable rise in equities is the principal development, but it sits within a broader quarterly result.[1], [2]
Diluted earnings per share were $17.01, against $12.25 in the corresponding 2025 quarter. The bank’s profit rose about 29 per cent over that comparison. Revenue from Global Banking and Markets increased 32 per cent to $13.46 billion. Those annual comparisons capture the strength of trading and banking activity from last year; they do not describe how business changed from the immediately preceding quarter.[1]
Banking fees rise, but the pipeline narrows
Investment banking fees increased 21 per cent to $3.22 billion. Goldman linked stronger advisory revenue to completed mergers and acquisitions, and higher equity-underwriting revenue to public offerings and subsequent share sales. Those are completed transactions that generated fees during the quarter. The bank also said its investment-banking backlog was smaller than at the end of the second quarter, indicating a different picture for work that has yet to turn into revenue.[1]
Within equities, financing and intermediation both contributed to the increase. The bank pointed to prime and portfolio financing in the former and derivatives in the latter. Fixed-income, currency and commodities revenue was $3.47 billion, broadly unchanged from a year earlier. This contrast matters for reading the headline trading figure: the 72 per cent jump belonged to equities, not to every market activity at the bank.[1]
A strong year-on-year result cools from June
Despite its annual rise, total revenue fell 8 per cent from the second quarter of 2026. Earnings per share likewise declined from $20.98 in that quarter to $17.01. The bank was therefore more profitable than a year earlier but below its immediately preceding peak. Distinguishing the two comparisons keeps the strong equities performance from being mistaken for unbroken sequential acceleration.[1]
Asset and Wealth Management revenue rose 14 per cent annually to $5.05 billion, while Platform Solutions revenue fell 72 per cent to $170 million. Goldman attributed the latter decline partly to markdowns on its Apple Card loan portfolio held for sale. Alongside the trading and banking gains, these divergent businesses shaped the total. The result is a broad earnings report with one especially strong equities line, not a uniform increase across every division.[1]
