Goldman Sachs Reports Biggest Earnings in Over a Decade, Generates $2.42 Billion Profit

With a turbulent second quarter at an end, major US banks have begun releasing their financial reports. Wells Fargo released its financials on Tuesday, suffering its first quarterly loss since the Great Depression. The following day however, Goldman Sachs also released its financials, with a vastly different outcome.

Second quarter earnings for Goldman Sachs were the highest in almost a decade, crushing previous estimates in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The bank had generated $2.42 billion in profit, which equates to approximately $6.26 per share – thus significantly surpassing a Refinitiv forecast of only $3.78 per share. Moreover, Goldman also earned revenues of $13.3 billion, which is $3.5 billion more than the estimate. As a result, the bank’s shares rose by 1.5% on the news.

Goldman Sachs is currently one of the only US banks that is the nearest to being a pure-play Wall Street bank, and gets the largest share of its revenue from investment banking and trading on Wall Street. Goldman’s distinct model has previously been a disadvantage, as the other US banks have relied on consumer deposits and retail banking for their profits. Amid the coronavirus pandemic however, the other banks had to set aside significant provisions to cover record losses- something that Goldman was predominantly spared from.

With the Federal Reserve going to all ends of the world to prop up US credit markets, the spur in bond trading and equity issuance has amassed a record amount of banking fees for Goldman. Revenue from bond trading reached $4.24 billion – an increase of nearly 150%. In the meantime, equity trading revenue was up 46% to a total of $2.94 billion, the highest in 11 years.

Goldman’s consumer and wealth management division had an increase of 9% in revenue to a total of $1.36 billion, stemming from an increase in management fees as well as loans from the bank’s Apple Card Partnership. Despite the record earnings however, only three out of Goldman’s four main divisions had produced more revenue compared to the previous year. The bank’s asset management division had its revenue fall by 18% to $2.1 billion, with the downfall attributed to reduced gains from private equity holdings.

Information for this briefing was found via CNBC, Bloomberg, The Australian Business Review, and Goldman Sachs. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

Video Articles

Silver’s Finally Breaking the System | Keith Neumeyer – First Majestic

The Best News for Gold Was the Drop! – Peter Grandich

McEwen Copper: The Los Azules Feasibility Study

Recommended

Silver47 Completes Property-Wide Geochemical, Rock Sampling Program At Adams Plateau, Identifies Numerous Targets

Altamira Gold Identifies Presence Of Second Mineralized Porphyry Body At Cajueiro

Related News

Capital Relief Is Coming As US Bank Regulators Readies Leverage Ratio Cut

US bank regulators are set to propose cutting the Community Bank Leverage Ratio to 8%...

Friday, October 17, 2025, 12:07:00 PM

Crypto Crackdown: Wells Notices, Fraud Accusations And Celebrity Sellouts Add To Regulatory Confusion

With the catastrophic succession of the biggest bank failures in history, bitcoin maximalists are touting...

Friday, March 24, 2023, 03:09:00 PM

Bitcoin Mining Less Energy-Intensive Than Banking System and Gold Industry

The explosion in cryptocurrency mining over the past year has prompted an onslaught of environmental...

Monday, May 17, 2021, 04:25:00 PM

PacWest Mulls Sale Hours After Fed Chief Says US Banking System “Sound And Resilient”

According to people familiar with the situation, PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ: PACW), a regional bank teetering...

Thursday, May 4, 2023, 09:14:00 AM

Now $3.2 Billion: Credit Suisse Price Tag Keeps Rising For UBS

UBS agreed to buy beleaguered rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.2 billion)...

Monday, March 20, 2023, 10:08:06 AM