Business

Goldman Sachs reports strong profit growth in the second quarter.

US investment bank benefits from strong stock and bond trading – results significantly improved.

Eulerpool News Jul 16, 2024, 8:00 AM

Goldman Sachs more than doubled its profit in the second quarter, as the Wall Street bank benefited from an accelerated recovery in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) business. Additionally, the company's bond and stock traders achieved better results than expected.

The Resurgent Activity in Dealmaking, After a Two-Year Lull During Which Global Central Banks Raised Interest Rates to Combat Inflation, Significantly Contributed to the Earnings Increase. In the Second Quarter, Goldman Sachs' Profit Rose by 150 Percent to $3 Billion, Exceeding Analysts' Expectations of $2.8 Billion. In the Same Quarter of the Previous Year, the Profit Had Been $1.2 Billion.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon stated in an analyst conference that the order backlog for deal activities has "increased significantly." "From our perspective, we are in the early stages of a recovery in capital markets and M&A business," Solomon said. Although the activity levels are still "well below" the average of the last ten years, he predicted that activities, such as in the private equity sector, would continue to accelerate.

Mergers and Acquisitions Recovery and Debt Financing Expectations Drive Goldman Sachs' Stocks to New Highs This Year, Surpassing 13% Increase in KBW Bank Index and 18% Rise in S&P 500 Over Same Period; Goldman Sachs Shares Edge Up Slightly in Early Monday Trading.

The investment banking revenues of Goldman Sachs rose by 21 percent to $1.7 billion in the quarter. However, this was behind the 50 percent increase reported by rival JPMorgan Chase last week and fell short of expectations, mainly due to lower advisory fees than anticipated by analysts.

In our opinion, the advisory revenues are likely attributable to a timing issue resulting from a lack of closings during the quarter, as the investment banking order backlog has significantly increased on a quarter-over-quarter basis," wrote the KBW research analysts in a note to clients.

Among the transactions that Goldman advised on in the second quarter was ExxonMobil's $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources.

Bond trading revenue increased by 17 percent to $3.2 billion, while Goldman generated $3.2 billion in equity trading, representing a 7 percent increase compared to the previous year. The performance of both business areas exceeded analysts' forecasts.

Overall, revenue rose by 17 percent in the quarter to $12.7 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations of $12.4 billion.

The asset management division of Goldman Sachs reported a 27 percent increase in revenue to $3.9 billion for the quarter. Solomon has made this division the focus of his efforts to make the bank's income less dependent on more volatile and capital-intensive business areas such as investment banking and trading. The business, led by Marc Nachmann, achieved a pre-tax profit margin of 23 percent, just below the division's target of around the mid-20 percent range.

Goldman's longtime rival, Morgan Stanley, will announce its results on Tuesday.

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