The Goldman Sachs Group (GS) — Company Research
Last Updated: 13 July 2026
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) is a 157-year-old global investment bank whose business is advising, financing and trading for the world's largest companies, institutions and governments — and, increasingly, managing their money. Founded in 1869 and headquartered at 200 West Street in New York, the firm now runs three reporting segments: Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management and Platform Solutions. In 2025 it produced net revenues of $58.28 billion and diluted earnings per share of $51.32, and in the first quarter of 2026 it delivered its second-highest quarterly net revenues, net earnings and EPS on record. This report sets out what Goldman is, how it earns money, what the reported numbers actually say, and what could change them — using only figures taken from the firm's own earnings releases and SEC filings. No analyst opinions, no price targets.
1. Company Snapshot
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Company | The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. |
| Ticker / Exchange | GS / New York Stock Exchange |
| Sector | Financials — investment banking, markets and asset & wealth management |
| Founded / Headquarters | 1869 / New York, NY, USA |
| Chairman & CEO | David Solomon |
| Employees | 47,400 (headcount at 31 December 2025) |
| Revenue (FY2025 net revenues) | $58.28bn |
| Net earnings (FY2025) | $17.18bn |
| Diluted EPS (FY2025) | $51.32 |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 15.0% |
| Book value per share (31 Mar 2026) | $361.19 |
| Assets under supervision (31 Mar 2026) | $3.65 trillion (record) |
| Market cap | ~$323.5bn (10 July 2026) |
| Quarterly dividend | $4.50 per share; intended to rise to $5.00 from 1 July 2026 |
2. Bull & Bear Case
Bull Case
- Earnings power has re-rated: Diluted EPS has gone from $22.87 in 2023 to $40.54 in 2024 to $51.32 in 2025, and the first quarter of 2026 alone delivered $17.55 with a 19.8% annualised return on equity — the second-highest quarterly EPS in the firm's history.
- Number one in the deal business: Goldman ranked #1 in announced and completed M&A and in equity and equity-related offerings in the first quarter of 2026 (Dealogic). Investment banking fees of $2.84bn in Q1 2026 were 48% higher year on year, with Advisory up 89%.
- Financing is the quiet compounder: Equities financing revenues were a record $2.61bn in Q1 2026, up 59% year on year, and full-year 2025 Equities financing was $7.20bn (+31%). This is recurring, balance-sheet-backed revenue rather than episodic trading.
- Asset & Wealth Management is scaling: Assets under supervision reached a record $3.65 trillion at 31 March 2026, with a 33rd consecutive quarter of long-term fee-based net inflows and management fees from alternatives up 13% year on year. Management's stated ambition is $750bn of alternative assets under supervision by 2030.
- Capital return is rising: The firm returned $16.78bn to common shareholders in 2025 (including $12.36bn of buybacks), and after the 2026 CCAR results announced it intends to lift the quarterly dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 — 25% above the prior year — with its stress capital buffer held at 3.4%.
Bear Case
- Cyclicality is structural, not solved: Net revenues fell from $59.34bn in 2021 to $47.37bn in 2022 and $46.25bn in 2023 — a 22% peak-to-trough decline in two years. The advisory and underwriting fee pool that is now driving earnings can contract just as fast.
- FICC is going the other way: First-quarter 2026 FICC net revenues of $4.01bn were 10% lower year on year, with intermediation down 13%. The strength is concentrated in equities and banking.
- Capital ratios have tightened: The Standardized CET1 ratio fell from 14.3% at 31 December 2025 to 12.5% at 31 March 2026, and the supplementary leverage ratio from 5.2% to 4.6%, as risk-weighted assets and balance-sheet exposure grew. Total assets rose to $2.06 trillion in the quarter.
- The consumer chapter cost real money: Platform Solutions produced negative net revenues of $(1.68)bn in Q4 2025 on $2.26bn of markdowns and contract-termination obligations related to transferring the Apple Card portfolio to another issuer; the segment's 2025 net revenues collapsed to $151m from $2.13bn.
3. Business Segments
Goldman changed its segment presentation starting in the fourth quarter of 2025. The three segments and their share of FY2025 net revenues of $58.28bn are below.
| Segment | % of revenue | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Global Banking & Markets | 71.1% ($41.45bn in FY2025) | Advisory on mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt underwriting, plus FICC and Equities — both intermediation (market making for clients) and financing (prime brokerage, structured and mortgage lending). Investment banking fees were $9.34bn, FICC $14.52bn and Equities $16.54bn in FY2025. |
| Asset & Wealth Management | 28.6% ($16.68bn in FY2025) | Managing money for institutions, third-party distributors and wealthy individuals. Management and other fees of $11.54bn, incentive fees $489m, private banking and lending $3.35bn, and returns on the firm's own investments $1.31bn. Total wealth-management client assets are approximately $1.8 trillion. |
| Platform Solutions | 0.3% ($151m in FY2025) | Transaction banking and enterprise partnerships — the remains of the consumer push. FY2025 net revenues were reduced by $2.26bn of markdowns tied to the transfer of the Apple Card loan portfolio to held-for-sale ahead of transitioning the programme to another issuer. |
4. How It Makes Money
Goldman's revenue is not one thing. It is four distinct engines with very different behaviour, and understanding which is firing explains most of the share-price story.
Fees for advice and access to capital. When a company buys another company, or lists shares, or issues bonds, Goldman is paid a fee. In FY2025 that produced $9.34bn — advisory $4.73bn, equity underwriting $1.78bn, debt underwriting $2.83bn. It is high-margin, requires almost no balance sheet, and is entirely dependent on chief executives feeling confident enough to act. Q1 2026 fees of $2.84bn (+48% year on year) show what happens when they do.
Intermediation — being the market. Goldman stands between buyers and sellers in bonds, currencies, commodities and equities, earning the spread and taking managed risk. In FY2025 FICC intermediation was $10.27bn and Equities intermediation $9.34bn. Average daily value-at-risk was $90m for 2025, giving a sense of the risk carried to earn it.
Financing — lending against collateral. This is the least glamorous and arguably the best business: prime brokerage financing for hedge funds, securities-based lending, mortgages and structured loans. Equities financing produced $7.20bn and FICC financing $4.25bn in FY2025. Loans reached $253bn at 31 March 2026 with net charge-offs of just $9m in the quarter (an annualised rate of 0.0%) and roughly 85% of gross loans secured.
Fees on managed assets. Asset & Wealth Management charges a percentage of the $3.65 trillion it supervises. Management and other fees were $11.54bn in FY2025 and $3.08bn in Q1 2026 alone. Alternatives carry higher effective fees (58 basis points on average across $428bn of alternatives AUS in Q1 2026, versus 75bp on funds and discretionary accounts) and are where the firm is pushing hardest.
Costs are dominated by people: compensation and benefits were $18.91bn of $37.54bn of FY2025 operating expenses. The firm's efficiency ratio was 64.4% in 2025 and 60.5% in Q1 2026.
5. Financial Health
All figures below are taken from Goldman Sachs earnings press releases and Form 10-K XBRL data filed with the SEC. Long-term debt is unsecured long-term borrowings at year-end.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue | YoY % | GAAP EPS | Adjusted EPS | Dividend/share | Long-term debt (YE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $59.34bn | — | $59.45 | n/a1 | $6.50 | $254.09bn |
| 2022 | $47.37bn | −20.2% | $30.06 | n/a1 | $9.00 | $247.14bn |
| 2023 | $46.25bn | −2.3% | $22.87 | n/a1 | $10.50 | $241.88bn |
| 2024 | $53.51bn | +15.7% | $40.54 | n/a1 | $11.50 | $242.63bn |
| 2025 | $58.28bn | +8.9% | $51.32 | n/a1 | $14.00 | $285.50bn |
1 Goldman Sachs does not publish an adjusted or non-GAAP earnings-per-share measure; it reports on a GAAP basis only. Revenue is net revenues (revenues net of interest expense). Dividends are dividends declared per common share as reported in the firm's 10-K XBRL data.
| Quarter / Half | Revenue | Adjusted EPS | GAAP EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 (Jan–Mar 2026) | $17.23bn | n/a1 | $17.55 |
| Q4 2025 (Oct–Dec 2025) | $13.45bn | n/a1 | $14.01 |
| Q3 2025 (Jul–Sep 2025) | $15.18bn | n/a1 | $12.25 |
| Q2 2025 (Apr–Jun 2025) | $14.58bn | n/a1 | $10.91 |
| FY2025 total | $58.28bn | n/a1 | $51.32 |
The balance sheet at 31 December 2025 showed total assets of $1.81 trillion, deposits of $501bn, cash and cash equivalents of $164bn, unsecured long-term borrowings of $286bn and shareholders' equity of $125bn. By 31 March 2026 total assets had grown to $2.06 trillion and deposits to $561bn. Common equity tier 1 capital was $104.3bn at year-end 2025 for a 14.4% Standardized CET1 ratio; that ratio was 12.5% at 31 March 2026 against an 11.4% requirement. The effective tax rate was 21.4% for 2025 and 13.2% in Q1 2026 (flattered by share-based award settlements).
6. Valuation Metrics
Raw metrics, July 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market cap | ~$323.5bn (10 July 2026; share price ~$1,055.40) |
| Trailing P/E (GAAP) | ~19.3x (price ~$1,055.40 ÷ trailing-twelve-month diluted EPS ~$54.75; TTM EPS = FY2025 $51.32 − Q1 2025 $14.12 + Q1 2026 $17.55) |
| P/E (forward) | n/a — Goldman Sachs does not issue EPS guidance |
| P/S (TTM) | ~5.4x (market cap ~$323.5bn ÷ TTM net revenues ~$60.45bn; TTM = FY2025 $58.28bn − Q1 2025 $15.06bn + Q1 2026 $17.23bn) |
| Price / book | ~2.9x (price ~$1,055.40 ÷ book value per share $361.19 at 31 March 2026) |
| Enterprise value | ~$515bn on a mechanical calculation (market cap ~$323.5bn + unsecured long-term borrowings $285.5bn + unsecured short-term borrowings $70bn − cash and cash equivalents $164.3bn, per the 31 December 2025 balance sheet). Treat with caution: for a bank, borrowings are raw material rather than financing of operations, so EV is not a meaningful comparison metric. |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | n/m — not meaningful for a bank. Interest is a core revenue and cost line, not a financing item, so EBITDA has no economic content here. Price/earnings and price/book are the relevant measures. |
| P/FCF | n/m — free cash flow is not meaningful for a broker-dealer. Operating cash flow swings with trading inventory, collateral and funding rather than with underlying profitability; the firm does not present a free-cash-flow measure. |
| Dividend yield | ~1.7% on the current $4.50 quarterly dividend (~1.9% on the $5.00 quarterly dividend the firm intends to pay from 1 July 2026) |
| 52-week high | $1,125.00 |
| 52-week low | $691.30 |
| Short interest (% of float) | ~1.9% (5.81m shares short, per AltIndex short-interest data, July 2026) |
| Days to cover | ~2.4 days (short interest ÷ average daily volume, same source) |
You can chart these against the market's own read of momentum on the ChartsView Live Charts page.
7. What Are They Building
Alternatives at scale. The strategic push is to turn Goldman's investing franchise into a fee stream rather than a balance-sheet return. Alternative investments AUS reached $429bn at 31 March 2026, management fees from alternatives were $597m in the quarter (+13% year on year), and gross third-party fundraising was $26bn in the quarter ($464bn raised since 2019). In July 2026 the firm publicly framed a target of $750bn of alternative assets under supervision by 2030, sizing the private-credit market at roughly $3.5 trillion.
Buying capability rather than building it. Goldman completed the acquisition of Industry Ventures (venture-capital secondaries) in Q1 2026 — which brought $5bn of inflows into long-term AUS — and Innovator Capital Management in Q2 2026.
Financing over flow. Management is consciously growing the financing book — prime, portfolio, mortgage and structured lending — because it is more durable than intermediation. Equities financing hit a record in Q1 2026 and total loans reached $253bn.
Productivity from AI. The firm explicitly lists artificial intelligence among its productivity initiatives in its forward-looking statements. Headcount was 47,400 at end-2025, up 2% in the year but down 2% in the fourth quarter.
8. Competitors
| Peer | Market cap (July 2026) | Key 2025 metric |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase (JPM) | ~$889.8bn | FY2025 total net revenue of $182.4bn (+3%) and net income of $57.0bn (−2%) — the scale benchmark against which Goldman's $58.28bn of net revenues is measured. |
| Morgan Stanley (MS) | ~$339.1bn (June 2026) | Record FY2025 net revenues of $70.6bn (from $61.8bn), EPS of $10.21 and ROTCE of 21.6% — the closest structural comparator, though far more weighted to wealth management. |
| Bank of America (BAC) | ~$414.2bn | FY2025 revenue of ~$113bn, up 7% year on year. |
| Citigroup (C) | ~$238.7bn | FY2025 revenues of $85.2bn (+6%) and net income of $14.3bn, or $6.99 per share. |
9. Leadership & Insiders
Goldman Sachs is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Solomon, who has held the CEO role since 2018 and is quoted in both the Q1 2026 earnings materials and the June 2026 CCAR statement. On the Q1 2026 results he said the firm "delivered very strong performance for our shareholders this quarter, even as market conditions became more volatile," adding that "disciplined risk management must remain core to how we operate."
| Name | Date | Type | Shares | Price | Value | Plan Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Solomon (Chairman & CEO) | 01 May 2026 | Sale | 3,470 | $930.43 / $931.25 (weighted averages) | ~$3.23m | Form 4 disclosed; directly held 137,262 shares afterwards |
| David Solomon (Chairman & CEO) | 29 Jan 2026 | Sale | 272 (232 + 40) | $938.84 / $939.41 (weighted averages) | ~$0.26m | Form 4 disclosed; directly held 125,527 shares afterwards |
Insider activity in the period searched consists of routine disposals by the CEO; there is no material insider buying on record and no material insider selling beyond the ordinary-course sales shown above. Insider sales of this size at a firm that pays a large share of compensation in stock are not, on their own, a signal about the business.
10. Risks
- Cyclical revenue collapse (Market risk): Investment banking fees and trading revenues are tied to deal activity and volatility. Net revenues fell 20.2% in 2022 and a further 2.3% in 2023. A stalled M&A cycle would remove the single biggest driver of the 2024–26 earnings recovery.
- Capital and regulatory constraints (Regulatory): The Standardized CET1 ratio fell to 12.5% at 31 March 2026 against an 11.4% requirement, and the supplementary leverage ratio to 4.6%. Any tightening of US capital rules, or a worse stress-test outcome in a future CCAR cycle, would directly constrain buybacks and dividends.
- Credit losses in a growing loan book (Credit): Loans grew to $253bn by 31 March 2026 with a $315m provision for credit losses in the quarter, which the firm attributed partly to impairments on wholesale loans. Commercial real estate exposure alone was $39bn.
- Trading and market risk (Market): Average daily value-at-risk was $90m for 2025. A disorderly move in rates, credit or equities can turn intermediation revenue negative in a single quarter.
- Concentration in a single business (Operational): Global Banking & Markets produced 71% of FY2025 net revenues. Asset & Wealth Management grew just 2% in 2025 and Platform Solutions collapsed to $151m, leaving little diversification cushion.
- Litigation and regulatory proceedings (Legal): Net provisions for litigation and regulatory proceedings were $215m in 2025, up from $166m in 2024. As a systemically important dealer, Goldman carries persistent legal exposure.
- Macro and geopolitical shock (Macro): Management explicitly flags a "very complex" geopolitical landscape. Tariffs, conflict, or a sharp economic slowdown would hit fees, credit and asset values simultaneously.
Scheduled macro events that move bank earnings — rate decisions and inflation prints — are tracked on the ChartsView Economic Calendar.
11. Recent Developments
- 15 Jan 2026 — Goldman reports FY2025 EPS of $51.32 and raises the dividend 12.5%. Full-year net revenues of $58.28bn (+9%), net earnings of $17.18bn, a 15.0% return on equity, and book value per share up 6.2% to $357.60. The board lifted the quarterly dividend from $4.00 to $4.50 per share, payable 30 March 2026. The firm returned $16.78bn to common shareholders during 2025.
- 13 Apr 2026 — Second-highest quarter on record. Q1 2026 net revenues of $17.23bn (+14% year on year), net earnings of $5.63bn, diluted EPS of $17.55 and a 19.8% annualised ROE. Global Banking & Markets set a record $12.74bn, with record Equities net revenues and record Equities financing. AUS hit a record $3.65 trillion. Provision for credit losses was $315m.
- 24 Jun 2026 — Federal Reserve CCAR results; dividend to rise again. Goldman's stress capital buffer stays at 3.4% through 30 September 2027 and its Standardized CET1 requirement at 11.4%. The firm said it intends to raise the quarterly common dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 per share from 1 July 2026 — 11% higher than the current level and 25% above the prior year — subject to board approval at the third-quarter meeting.
- 08 Jul 2026 — Private-markets ambition set out. Goldman publicly framed a target of $750bn in alternative assets under supervision by 2030, with CEO David Solomon sizing the private-credit market at roughly $3.5 trillion of total assets and $1.6–1.7 trillion in direct lending alone.
- Q4 2025 / Q1 2026 — The Apple Card exit lands in the numbers. Platform Solutions posted negative net revenues of $(1.68)bn in Q4 2025 after $2.26bn of markdowns and contract-termination obligations tied to transferring the Apple Card loan portfolio to another issuer, more than offset in earnings terms by a $2.48bn reserve release. The segment's Q1 2026 net revenues of $411m were still 33% below the prior year.
12. Key Dates
- 14 Jul 2026 — Second-quarter 2026 earnings results, released before the opening bell (the immediate catalyst for this report).
- Expected Oct 2026 — Third-quarter 2026 earnings results.
- Expected Jul 2026 — Board decision on the intended increase of the quarterly common dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 per share, effective from 1 July 2026, at the scheduled third-quarter board meeting.
- 30 Sep 2027 — End of the period through which Goldman's 3.4% stress capital buffer requirement is fixed following the 2026 CCAR results.
- Expected Jan 2027 — Full-year and fourth-quarter 2026 earnings results.
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13. Thesis Verdict
The central thesis. Goldman Sachs earns money in four ways: fees for advising on mergers and underwriting securities, spreads from making markets in bonds, currencies, commodities and equities, interest and fees from financing clients against collateral, and management fees on the $3.65 trillion it supervises. Fiscal 2025 delivered net revenues of $58.28bn (+9%), net earnings of $17.18bn and diluted EPS of $51.32, up from $40.54 in 2024, on a 15.0% return on equity; the first quarter of 2026 then produced $17.23bn of net revenues and $17.55 of EPS at a 19.8% annualised ROE — the second-highest quarter in the firm's history. Goldman issues no EPS guidance, but after the June 2026 CCAR results it stated its intention to raise the quarterly dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 per share from 1 July 2026, 25% above the prior year, with its stress capital buffer held at 3.4%. The primary structural driver is the M&A and capital-markets cycle it leads (#1 in announced and completed M&A in Q1 2026), amplified by a record and still-growing asset and wealth management franchise.
What would confirm or break it. Confirmation would be second-quarter 2026 results on 14 July landing in line with the Q1 trajectory — investment banking fees holding near the $2.84bn quarterly run-rate, equities financing revenue continuing to compound, and the board approving the intended $5.00 dividend. The thesis breaks if the deal cycle stalls and revenue repeats its 2022–23 contraction (net revenues fell 20.2% then 2.3%), if capital ratios keep tightening from the 12.5% Standardized CET1 recorded at 31 March 2026 and constrain buybacks, or if credit losses in the $253bn loan book — where the Q1 provision of $315m already reflected wholesale-loan impairments — begin to bite.
Watchpoints
- ConfirmsQ2 2026 earnings (1 days) landing in line with or above management guidance.
- ConfirmsEvidence supporting the "Earnings power has re-rated:" thesis continuing to build across subsequent filings.
- InvalidatesMaterialisation of the "Cyclical revenue collapse (Market risk):" risk, or any disclosure that fundamentally alters the capital-return or growth profile stated by management.
Diagnostic grid
Generated by ChartsView research tooling. Thesis strength measures how well the evidence in this report supports the company's stated thesis — it is NOT a buy/sell rating or price target. ChartsView is not authorised by the FCA to provide regulated investment advice. Generated 13 Jul 2026.