Goldman Sachs fourth-quarter revenue beats expectations

Investing.com -- Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has reported fourth-quarter revenue that topped analysts estimates thanks in part to strength in equity sales and trading that helped offset weakness at the Wall Street giant's core investment banking unit.

Net revenue jumped by 7% year-on-year in the three months ended on Dec. 31 to $11.32 billion, above Bloomberg consensus expectations of $10.84B. The total helped push diluted earnings per share up to $5.48 from $3.32 in the final quarter of 2022.

Shares in the company were higher in premarket dealmaking on Tuesday.

Hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon begin to slash interest rates spurred on a broad market rally in the closing weeks of last year. Goldman's equities trading operations, particularly in derivatives and prime financing, benefited from this trend, boosting the division's net revenue up by more than a fourth to $2.61B.

But investment banking, typically a pillar of the lender's business, sank by 12% to $1.65B. Activity in mergers and acquisitions has recently been relatively dormant as the elevated rates environment persuades many firms to forego big-name deals, weighing on key advisory fees.

Fixed income and currencies trading revenue, meanwhile, also dropped by 24%, reflecting lower demand for interest rate products.

Annually, net income dropped to $8.5B, the lowest mark since 2019. Operating expenses increased by 11% in 2023 to $34.49B due to "significantly" higher impairments related to consolidated real estate investments and a $506M write-down linked to the sale of its online lending platform GreenSky. Other expenses included a goodwill impairment of $504M on its consumer businesses and a special assessment fee to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. of $529M.

"This was a year of execution for Goldman Sachs. With everything we achieved in 2023 coupled with our clear and simplified strategy, we have a much stronger platform for 2024," said Chief Executive Officer David Solomon in a statement.