Goldman Sachs third-quarter net earnings climb to $5.29 billion, revenue up 23%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) reported third-quarter 2026 net earnings of $5.29 billion, up 29% from a year earlier, the company said in a filing on Tuesday.

Net revenues were $18.68 billion, 23% higher than the third quarter of 2025 and 8% lower than the second quarter of 2026. Diluted earnings per common share were $17.01, compared with $12.25 a year earlier and $20.98 in the second quarter of 2026.

Here's how the company did:

• Diluted earnings per share: $17.01 vs. $12.25 a year earlier
• Net revenues: $18.68 billion vs. $15.18 billion a year earlier
• Net earnings: $5.29 billion vs. $4.10 billion a year earlier
• Annualized return on average common shareholders' equity: 18.7%

For the first nine months of 2026, net revenues were $56.24 billion and net earnings were $17.55 billion. Diluted earnings per share were $55.56, compared with $37.33 for the first nine months of 2025.

Global Banking & Markets generated net revenues of $13.46 billion, 32% higher than a year earlier and 13% lower than the second quarter of 2026.

Investment banking fees were $3.22 billion, 21% higher than a year earlier. The company said the increase primarily reflected higher Advisory net revenues, tied to an increase in completed mergers and acquisitions volumes, and significantly higher Equity underwriting net revenues.

The investment banking fees backlog decreased compared with the end of the second quarter of 2026 and decreased slightly compared with the end of 2025, the filing showed.

Equities net revenues were $6.44 billion, 72% higher than a year earlier. The company attributed the increase to higher Equities financing, driven by prime and portfolio financing, and to higher Equities intermediation, primarily in derivatives.

Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) net revenues were $3.47 billion, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. Intermediation revenue fell, while financing revenue rose, mainly in mortgages and structured lending.

Asset & Wealth Management net revenues were $5.05 billion, 14% higher than a year earlier and 10% higher than the second quarter of 2026. Management and other fees were $3.59 billion, a record according to the company's presentation.

Private banking and lending revenue decreased from a year earlier, reflecting the payment of interest on a previously impaired loan in the prior-year period. Investments revenue also decreased, including net markdowns in debt investments.

Platform Solutions net revenues were $170 million, 72% lower than a year earlier. The decrease primarily reflected net markdowns related to the Apple Card loan portfolio, which was transferred to held for sale in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Provision for credit losses was $368 million, compared with $339 million a year earlier and $102 million in the second quarter of 2026. The company said the provisions primarily reflected impairments related to wholesale loans.

Operating expenses were $11.31 billion, 20% higher than a year earlier and 3% lower than the second quarter of 2026. Transaction based expenses rose significantly, and charitable contributions to Goldman Sachs Gives were approximately $450 million.

The company said those charitable contributions reduced diluted earnings per share by approximately $1.00. Headcount was 47,500, up 3% from the end of the second quarter, reflecting the timing of campus hires.

The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2026 was 20.4%, up from 18.5% for the first half of 2026, primarily due to a decrease in the benefit of tax deductions on employee share-based awards.

During the quarter, the company returned $4.49 billion to common shareholders. That included $3.00 billion of common share repurchases, or 2.9 million shares at an average cost of $1,048.73, and $1.49 billion of common stock dividends.

On Oct. 12, 2026, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of $5.00 per common share, payable Dec. 30, 2026, to shareholders of record on Dec. 2, 2026.

Book value per common share was $372.64, up 1.4% during the quarter and 4.2% for the first nine months of 2026. The standardized common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 12.4%, down from 12.9% at the end of the second quarter.

During the third quarter, the company announced agreements to acquire NEOS Investments and LCN Capital Partners, according to the presentation filed with the report.

"I am confident our market-leading franchises, deep relationships and continued investments will help drive long-term earnings growth," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said.