Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)

Goldman Sachs reported net revenues of $18.68 billion and net earnings of $5.29 billion for the third quarter of 2026, on 13 October 2026 1. Revenues were 23% higher than a year earlier, and diluted earnings per common share were $17.01, against $12.25 a year before 1.

The gain came mostly from trading shares for big clients and lending to them 1. Equities revenue rose 72% to $6.44 billion, which Reuters tied to volatile markets around the Middle East conflict 15. Advisory, the fees for steering mergers, had a record quarter 5.

The firm is also finishing its exit from consumer lending: Chase is set to take over the Apple Card in about 24 months from January 2026 8. Meanwhile it keeps buying fund managers, with NEOS and LCN still waiting to close 67.

The open question is leadership: the Wall Street Journal reported that a plan had been discussed for Solomon to hand the chief executive role to John Waldron, Reuters wrote 5. A spokesperson said the board regularly discusses succession and there is no definitive timeline 5.

Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York 15. It operates as a bank holding company, which puts it under the supervision of the Federal Reserve 3. That status lets it take deposits through Goldman Sachs Bank USA, a New York State-chartered bank 3.

In 2016 net revenues were $30.61 billion, 9% lower than 2015, as investing and trading suffered in a hard first half 14. Net earnings still rose to $7.40 billion that year 14. The firm was then four businesses: investment banking, trading for institutions, investing and lending, and investment management 14.

The next stretch was a push toward ordinary savers 15. By 2019 a new segment held Marcus by Goldman Sachs, a digital platform for unsecured loans and deposits, alongside credit cards 15. Revenue that year was $36.55 billion, essentially unchanged, and net earnings fell 19% to $8.47 billion 15.

In October 2020 the firm settled the 1MDB matters, a Malaysian state fund scandal, with regulators in the United States, Britain, Singapore and Hong Kong 4. A Malaysian subsidiary pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 4.

Then came a boom 16. Net revenues were $59.34 billion for 2021, 33% higher than 2020, with large gains in investing, advisory and underwriting as markets and deal volumes surged 16. Net earnings reached $21.64 billion 16.

The boom faded 17. Net revenues were $47.37 billion for 2022, 20% lower, mainly because the firm's own equity and debt investments lost ground and banking fees fell 17. That year it bought GreenSky, a point-of-sale lender, the European asset manager NN Investment Partners and NextCapital 17.

The consumer push proved costly 18. Net revenues slipped to $46.25 billion in 2023 and net earnings fell to $8.52 billion 18. From 2023 the firm sold most of the Marcus loans, the GreenSky business and a retailer loan book, and in 2025 the GM credit card program 3.

With the focus back on big clients, results recovered 19. Net revenues rose 16% to $53.51 billion in 2024, and net earnings reached $14.28 billion 19. In 2025 net revenues grew 9% to $58.28 billion and net earnings to $17.18 billion, led by equities and banking fees 3.

The Apple Card exit left a mark on 2025: markdowns on the card loans cut net revenues by $2.26 billion 3. A release of $2.48 billion of loan loss reserves, money set aside for bad loans, more than offset it 3.

Global Banking & Markets

This is the investment bank and trading floor: it advises on mergers, helps companies raise money by selling shares and bonds, and makes markets so clients can trade 3. Net revenues were $41.45 billion for 2025, 18% higher than 2024 3.

In the third quarter of 2026 it earned $13.46 billion, 32% more than a year earlier 1. Investment banking fees were $3.22 billion, FICC, the bond, currency and commodity desks, $3.47 billion, and Equities $6.44 billion 1.

Equities financing, lending to trading clients against their securities, hit a record 2. The firm ranked first in announced and completed mergers and in equity offerings, its presentation says 2. Its backlog of banking fees fell from the second quarter 1.

Asset & Wealth Management

This side manages money for institutions and wealthy families and lends to private clients 3. Net revenues were $16.68 billion for 2025, 2% higher than 2024 3. In the third quarter of 2026 they rose 14% to $5.05 billion, with record management fees 1.

Assets under supervision, the client money it manages or oversees, reached a record $4.10 trillion 2. Wealth clients held about $2.1 trillion with the firm 2. Alternative investments such as private equity and private credit reached a record $491 billion 2.

It also takes deposits from ordinary savers through Marcus, the online bank brand that survived the consumer retreat 3. The ETF side grew through the purchase of Innovator, an active ETF sponsor, in the second quarter of 2026 4.

Platform Solutions and the Apple Card

Almost all of this segment is the Apple Card and its savings accounts, which the firm is handing over 3. The card pays up to 3 percent Daily Cash back, and its variable rates ran from 17.49 percent to 27.74 percent as of January 2026 8.

Third-quarter 2026 revenue was $170 million, 72% lower, because the card loans are now marked down as assets held for sale 1. Chase expects to take on over $20 billion of card balances 8.

Offices and people

Headquarters is 200 West Street in New York, about 2.1 million square feet on land leased until 2069 3. The European base is Plumtree Court in London, about 826,000 square feet, and India holds about 2.0 million square feet 3.

Headcount was 47,400 at the end of 2025, in over 35 countries, with half in the Americas 3. It was 46,200 at the end of June 2026 4.

David Solomon has been chief executive since October 2018 and chairman since January 2019 3. John Waldron has been president and chief operating officer since October 2018, and Denis Coleman finance chief since January 2022 3.

Shareholders approved executive pay at the April 2026 meeting by 153,743,916 votes to 63,974,950, a sizable minority against 20. Chief legal officer Kathryn Ruemmler set her retirement for 30 June 2026 21.

Rivals

The firm competes with brokers, investment banks, commercial banks, asset managers, hedge funds, private credit funds and fintech companies 3. Reuters names Morgan Stanley as its closest peer and set its quarter beside JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo 5.

Current problems

Credit costs rose: the provision for credit losses was $368 million in the third quarter, mostly impairments on loans to companies 1. Provisions for litigation and regulators were $23 million 1.

The 1MDB affair still shapes its licences: in June 2026 the Labor Department extended the exemption that lets it keep managing pension money through June 2031 4.

The umbrella, in words

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is the parent, and it owns at least 99% of the voting securities of substantially all its significant subsidiaries 13. Exhibit 21 lists them, including Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Goldman Sachs International and Goldman Sachs Japan 13.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is the main American broker-dealer, J. Aron & Company LLC is another principal American subsidiary, and Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE serves the European Union 3. The firm owns Industry Ventures, a venture capital investor, and Innovator, both bought in 2026 4.

No founder or special share class controls the firm, and the proxy lists only large fund managers above five percent 11. The 2026 proxy named BlackRock at 7.80%, State Street at 6.65% and Vanguard at 9.68% of the common stock 11. Vanguard Capital Management later reported 7.19% 12.

The board declared a dividend of $5.00 a share, to be paid on 30 December 2026 to holders of record on 2 December 1. The firm had said in June that it intends to raise the dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 10.

The Federal Reserve's stress test keeps its stress capital buffer, an extra cushion regulators require, at 3.4% through 30 September 2027, the firm said 10. Its required common equity ratio stays 11.4% 10.

The firm expects the NEOS deal, for up to $2.25 billion in cash and shares, to close in the first quarter of 2027 6. NEOS runs $30 billion across 19 options-based income ETFs 6.

The firm expects LCN Capital Partners, a net lease property manager with about $3 billion, to join by the end of 2026 7. It pays about $260 million upfront and up to $150 million more on targets 7.

The Apple Card transition is expected to take about 24 months from the January 2026 agreement and needs regulatory approvals 98. Until then the firm says it will keep running the program 3.

Its stated goal through the cycle is a return on equity, profit over shareholders' money, of 14% to 16% 3. In 2026 it set a target of $750 billion of alternative assets by the end of 2030 3.

OneGS 3.0, announced late in 2025, is a multi-year plan to rebuild how the firm operates, which it expects to drive expense efficiencies 3. It names artificial intelligence as part of that work 3.

Directors elected in April 2026 serve until the 2027 annual meeting, where the board is next put to a vote 20.

The firm warned that tariffs, the conflict in the Middle East and swings in markets could delay or cancel deals in its fee backlog, which fell from the second quarter 1.

Part of what it pays for Industry Ventures, up to $300 million, depends on targets through 2030 3. Innovator's sellers can earn more shares on targets through 2030 as well 4.

Past

Goldman Sachs' revenue rose from $31 billion in fiscal 2016 to $58 billion in fiscal 2025, up 7.3% a year, and rose in 6 of 9 years, with a deepest fall of 22% from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2023. Net income stayed positive in all 10 of those years. Dividends declared per share rose from $2.60 in fiscal 2016 to $14 in fiscal 2025. Over the three fiscal years to 2025, the diluted share count shrank about 3.9% a year. The filings since 2017 show no warning events: no bankruptcy or receivership notice, no debt default notice, no exchange listing notice, no restatement warning, no auditor change, no material cyber incident and no late-report notice. 12

Present

In fiscal 2025 ended 2025-12-31, Goldman Sachs reported revenue of $58 billion and profit of $17 billion. Return on equity was 14 cents of profit per dollar of shareholders' money; leverage was 93 cents owed per dollar of assets; the share count shrank 4.8% over the year. Revenue of $58 billion ranks in the top 10% by size among 29 graded names in its family; net margin of 29.5% ranks in the top 22%. The chief executive is Solomon, David M, filing under that title since 2019-01-25, 7.7 years; the 21 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 7.8 years; 9 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-10-21, against the 21 people in charge now. 31

Future

A quarterly report (Form 10-Q) for the quarter ending 2026-09-30 is due by 2026-11-09. An annual report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ending 2026-12-31 is due by 2027-03-01. Cash of $164 billion against debt of $356 billion leaves -10.6% of assets as net cash, bottom 12% of the family; cash from operations less capital spending is -81% of revenue, bottom 2%. Revenue grew 7.2% a year over the last three filed years against 7.3% over all 10, slowing; the newest year grew 8.9%; capital spending shrank 18% a year. 41

How the company operates

In fiscal 2025, the company's revenue came from Global Banking and Markets at 71%, Asset and Wealth Management at 29%, and Platform Solutions under 1%; by geography, Americas accounted for 63%, EMEA for 24%, and Asia for 13%. Global Banking and Markets brought in $41 billion, Asset and Wealth Management $17 billion, and Platform Solutions $151 million; 2 of 3 lines grew against the year before. 31

New moves

On 2026-10-21, Goldman Sachs filed Form 424B2 for an offering of notes or structured products, a filing common when banks sell structured products tied to financial health. A headline on 2026-10-21 from CNBC reported that Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are dominating the AI stock boom. A headline on 2026-10-20 from MarketWatch reported that Goldman Sachs expects the housing market to get worse. A desk story on 2026-10-13 named Goldman Sachs among three banks that earned more than a year ago but set aside more for bad loans, with chiefs naming higher rates a risk. 456