Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) became the latest of Wall Street’s big beasts to surpass market forecasts in the final quarter of 2016.
Like rival Morgan Stanley, Goldman got a boost from the Trump presidential election victory with trading revenues 25% higher following the Donald’s win.
Net income amounted to US$2.35bn or US$5.08 per share, compared to US$4.68 ignoring a mortgage selling fine last year.
Revenue grew 12% to $8.17bn from $7.27bn a year earlier led by bond trading, currencies and commodity dealing income, which shot up by 78% to US$2bn.
Goldman earns most of its money from trading, unlike its rivals, but it did highlight that its debt underwriting business had a bumper year with income 22% ahead at US$2.45bn.
Profits for the year were US$7.4bn (US$6.1bn) on revenues of US$30.8mln while operating expenses fell 19% to US$20.30bn.
After a challenging first half, the firm performed well for the remainder of the year as the operating environment improved,” said Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive.