Goldman Sachs reported a quarterly profit of $5.29 billion for the three months ended September 30. The bank’s equities business saw a 72% revenue jump to $6.44 billion as investors reshuffled portfolios. CEO David Solomon said, "We remain very well positioned to continue to deliver for our clients" despite global uncertainty.
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. Investors aggressively reshuffled portfolios, resulting in higher revenue for the trading desks of banks.
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The equities business posted a 72% jump in quarterly revenue to $6.44 billion. The fixed income, currency and commodities business revenue, however, came in at $3.47 billion, down 1% from a year ago.
Goldman's FICC business has been volatile this year. Net revenue surged 32% in the second quarter, but had dropped 10% in the first quarter when its rates business was hit by volatility from the Iran war.
CEO David Solomon said the bank was expecting a softer number from FICC in the third quarter.
"Notwithstanding the current complexity and uncertainty in the world, we remain very well positioned to continue to deliver for our clients," Solomon said in a statement.
Total profit was $5.29 billion, or $17.01 per share, for the three months ended September 30. That compares with $4.10 billion, or $12.25 per share, a year ago.
INVESTMENT BANKING HOLDS
Goldman's investment banking division navigated a brief slowdown in dealmaking as M&A activity in the third quarter fell 41% from the prior three months to $993 billion, falling below $1 trillion for the first time since the second quarter of 2025, LSEG data showed.
Investment banking fees rose 21% from a year ago to $3.22 billion. Goldman defied the broader market slowdown through higher debt and equity underwriting, alongside an 18% jump in advisory revenues.
On a sequential basis, owing to significant activity in the second quarter, investment banking fees dropped 5%.
STRESS-FREE PRIVATE CREDIT
Goldman Sachs' private credit fund said in September investor requests to pull money slowed further in the third-quarter tender offer, keeping the number under the threshold 5% cap for the second straight quarter at a time when other private credit players have been facing redemption requests.
Private credit firms are facing pressure from investors seeking to pull their capital, driven by concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt software companies in their portfolio.
However, withdrawal requests at major funds have slowed in the third quarter as asset managers clear backlogs and investor sentiment rebounds.
The asset and wealth management division, which houses the bank's private credit fund, reported a 14% jump in its revenue, marking another strong quarter. That helped total revenue rise 23% to $18.68 billion.
The bank has expanded its asset and wealth management business in recent years to generate steadier earnings and reduce reliance on its volatile trading and investment banking units.
Reporting by Saeed Azhar in New York and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur
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Saeed Azhar is a Reuters financial journalist and part of the U.S. banking team, which covers Wall Street's biggest banks. He focuses on Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, and also writes about regional banks. Before moving to New York in July 2022, he led the finance team in the Middle East from Dubai, and also worked in Singapore, covering Southeast Asia finance.