Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) has reported its 2024 Q3 financial results, surpassing expectations due to robust performance in stock trading and investment banking. The bank's revenue and profit exceeded forecasts, partly driven by these key business areas.
Goldman's Q3 revenue reached $12.7 billion, a 7% increase year-over-year, surpassing the anticipated $11.8 billion. The bank's profits rose significantly by 45% to $2.99 billion, or $8.40 per share, also beating expectations.
The investment banking division saw a 20% revenue surge to $1.87 billion, fueled by strong debt and equity underwriting. This exceeded the predicted $1.62 billion. The bank noted an increase in its backlog of pending deals compared to the same period last year and the previous quarter.
Stock trading revenue hit $3.5 billion, marking the best performance since Q1 2021. Goldman attributed this to growth in intermediary income from derivatives and cash products.
However, fixed-income trading revenue fell 12% to $2.96 billion due to declines in interest rates and commodity income, slightly above the market's expectation of $2.91 billion.
The asset and wealth management division also surpassed expectations, with revenue growing 16% to $3.75 billion thanks to higher management fees and investment returns.
Goldman provisioned $397 million for credit losses in Q3 due to increased credit card portfolio write-offs, a significant rise from $7 million in the same period last year. The consumer platform business saw a 32% revenue drop to $391 million, with a pre-tax loss of $559 million. The bank is still affected by its exit from consumer business, including a one-time $415 million charge related to transferring the General Motors credit card business to Barclays.
Goldman's credit card partnership with Apple faces uncertainties, as reports suggest JPMorgan could replace Goldman as Apple's partner.
