Goldman Sachs Earnings Climb on Trading Strength
Goldman Sachs earnings rose on trading and advisory strength in Q3, and the $5.00 dividend could prompt short-term repositioning in financial stocks.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Third-quarter net revenue rose 23.0% y/y to $18.7 billion.
- Net earnings rose 29.0% y/y to $5.3 billion with EPS of $17.01.
- Record advisory revenue reached $1.7 billion and the board declared a $5.00 per-share dividend.
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Goldman Sachs earnings rose as the firm reported on Oct. 13, 2026, that third-quarter profit strengthened amid steady dealmaking and elevated trading activity, lifting quarterly profitability and prompting a shareholder dividend.
Quarterly Results and Business Drivers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) reported third-quarter net revenue of $18.7 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2026, up 23.0% year over year and down 8.0% from the prior quarter, according to a Form 8-K filed Oct. 13. Net earnings rose 29.0% to $5.3 billion. Diluted earnings per common share reached $17.01, compared with $12.25 in the third quarter of 2025 and $20.98 in the second quarter of 2026.
For the first nine months of 2026, the firm reported net revenue of $56.2 billion and net earnings of $17.6 billion. Annualized return on average common shareholders’ equity was 18.7% for the quarter and 20.7% for the nine-month period. Book value per common share increased 1.4% during the quarter and 4.2% for the nine months to $372.64.
The company’s board declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $5.00 per share on Oct. 12, payable Dec. 30 to shareholders of record Dec. 2.
Business Lines and Expenses
Goldman’s earnings presentation highlighted record advisory revenue of $1.7 billion and record assets under supervision totaling $4.1 trillion. The firm described the quarter as its second-highest for net revenue, with strong contributions from equities, fixed-income financing, advisory, and asset-management fees.
Equities financing reached a record, while equities intermediation and fixed-income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) financing produced some of the firm’s strongest recent results. Equities revenue was the second-highest on record. The firm ranked first in announced and completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity and equity-related offerings, second in leveraged lending, and third in high-yield debt.
Operating expenses totaled $11.3 billion, up 20.0% year over year and down 3.0% sequentially. Average global core liquid assets increased to $574 billion from $555 billion in the prior quarter.
