Goldman Sachs (GS) said Tuesday that profits soared 78% in the second quarter, fueled by a windfall of fees from stock trading and dealmaking.
The Wall Street bank reported $6**.** 6 billion in net earnings or $21 per share, far exceeding the $14.5 per share that analysts had expected.
Total net revenue increased 39% year over year to $20.3 billion, while analysts had forecast $16.2 billion.
"Momentum has accelerated throughout our businesses," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in a press release statement.
Goldman's monster earnings report comes as corporate mergers, AI-driven capital raising, and this year's unusually active markets have powered its Wall Street machine.
"Clients are turning to us to lead their most strategic and consequential transactions, which are often the genesis of activity across the franchise," Solomon said. "Given what we see in our pipelines, we expect this flywheel of activity to continue."
Goldman Sachs stock was up slightly in early Tuesday trading. Shares are up 18% year to date as of Monday's close.
The company said revenue from its equities trading division rose 72% year over year to $7.4 billion. Its investment bank reported $3.4 billion in revenue, its highest quarterly figure since 2021, driven by its M&A advisory and equity underwriting groups.
The equity underwriting division, which includes underwriting initial public offerings, earned fees from several of the quarter's biggest AI-related deals. That includes SpaceX's (SPCX) blockbuster IPO and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) even larger follow-on stock sale. Revenue from that unit jumped 130% to $985 million.
David Hollerith covers a range of developments throughout the financial sector, from Wall Street to banking and asset management to crypto and fintech. Email him at david.hollerith@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X at @DsHollers.
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