Goldman Q1 trading split: equities beat, FICC lag

Goldman Sachs opened first-quarter bank earnings with a split screen: record stock-trading revenue and weaker bond-trading revenue on the same day. (goldmansachs.com) The bank reported $17.23 billion in net revenue and $5.63 billion in net earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, up 14% and 19% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $17.55, and annualized return on common equity was 19.8%. (goldmansachs.com) Inside the trading business, equities brought in $5.33 billion, up 27% from the first quarter of 2025, while Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities brought in $4.01 billion, down 10%. Goldman said equities were lifted by prime financing and cash products, while fixed income was hurt by weaker interest-rate products, mortgages and credit. (goldmansachs.com) That gap landed in a quarter when investors were watching whether market volatility would help all trading desks or only some of them. CNBC reported Goldman’s equities result came in about $420 million above StreetAccount estimates, while Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities missed by about $910 million. (cnbc.com) Equities trading is Goldman’s business of financing hedge funds and matching buyers and sellers in stock markets. Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities covers trading in bonds, rates, currencies and raw materials, so a weaker quarter there can point to softer client activity in those markets even when stock desks are busy. (goldmansachs.com) The rest of the quarter was stronger than the trading split alone suggests. Investment-banking fees rose 48% to $2.84 billion, driven mainly by higher advisory revenue from completed mergers and acquisitions, and Asset and Wealth Management revenue rose 10% to $4.08 billion. (goldmansachs.com) Goldman’s total Global Banking and Markets revenue reached $12.74 billion, up 19% from a year earlier. The firm said its overall revenue increase from the first quarter of 2025 primarily reflected higher revenue in that division. (goldmansachs.com) Investors still focused on the weaker fixed-income line and other softer spots. Shares fell about 4% in early Monday trading, and CNBC said the bank’s provision for credit losses rose to $315 million from $150.4 million expected by StreetAccount. (finance.yahoo.com) (cnbc.com) Chief Executive David Solomon said Goldman delivered “very strong performance” as market conditions became more volatile and said disciplined risk management remained central because “the geopolitical landscape remains very complex.” By the close of this report, the quarter looked less like a single trading boom than a reminder that Goldman’s stock desks and bond desks are not moving in lockstep. (goldmansachs.com)