Goldman’s big quarter

Goldman Sachs opened 2026 with one of its strongest quarters on record, powered by a surge in stock trading and a rebound in dealmaking. (goldmansachs.com; cnbc.com) For the quarter ended March 31, Goldman said net revenue rose 14% from a year earlier to $17.23 billion, while net earnings climbed 19% to $5.63 billion. Diluted earnings per share were $17.55, ahead of the $16.49 analysts expected, according to LSEG data cited by CNBC. (goldmansachs.com; cnbc.com) The biggest engine was equities, Goldman’s stock-trading business, where revenue jumped 27% to a record $5.33 billion. Fixed income, currencies and commodities — the bond, foreign-exchange and commodities desk — moved the other way, with revenue falling 10% to $4.01 billion. (cnbc.com) Investment banking also turned in a stronger quarter. Fees rose 48% to $2.84 billion, helped by more advisory revenue from completed mergers and by higher equity and debt underwriting. (cnbc.com) That mix matters because Goldman still makes much of its money from market swings and corporate transactions, even after years of trying to build steadier fee businesses. In the same quarter, its asset and wealth management division reported $4.08 billion of revenue, up 10%, with assets under supervision reaching a record roughly $3.65 trillion. (cnbc.com; investmentnews.com) Goldman said annualized return on average common equity was 19.8% in the quarter, a level that shows how profitable the firm can be when trading and banking both fire at once. The company also said earnings, revenue and earnings per share were its second-highest ever, according to remarks from Chief Executive David Solomon on the earnings call. (goldmansachs.com; earningscall.ai) The quarter was not clean across the board. Goldman set aside $315 million for credit losses, up nearly 10% from a year earlier and more than double the StreetAccount estimate cited by CNBC. (cnbc.com) Solomon said market conditions became more volatile as the quarter went on and said the geopolitical landscape remained complex. He said clients kept leaning on Goldman for execution and advice as uncertainty rose. (goldmansachs.com) Investors still marked the stock lower after the report. Goldman shares were down about 2.8% by 10:42 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, April 14, after closing at $907.80 on Monday. (finance.yahoo.com; markets.businessinsider.com) The result left Goldman with a familiar picture: when volatility and deal flow return, the firm’s trading floor and advisory machine can still produce outsized profits. (goldmansachs.com; cnbc.com)