Goldman Sachs Q3 2026 Beats Estimates as Equities Revenue Jumps 72% and EPS Hits $17.01

GS reported third-quarter 2026 net revenue of $18.68 billion, up 23% from a year earlier, and net earnings of $5.29 billion, up 29%, with diluted earnings per share of $17.01 versus $12.25 a year ago. Both lines cleared Wall Street's bar: Investing.com put the EPS consensus at $13.09 and the revenue consensus at $16.86 billion, while the LSEG EPS estimate cited by Reuters was $13.02.

Equities drove the beat. Equities net revenue jumped 72% to $6.44 billion on higher prime financing, portfolio financing and derivatives activity, lifting Global Banking & Markets revenue 32% to $13.46 billion. Investment banking fees rose 21% to $3.22 billion, with advisory revenue at a record, while fixed income, currencies and commodities revenue was roughly flat at $3.47 billion. Asset & Wealth Management revenue grew 14% to $5.05 billion.

Not every line was clean. Platform Solutions revenue fell 72% to $170 million on markdowns tied to the Apple Card portfolio, operating expenses rose 20% to $11.31 billion, and provisions for credit losses rose to $368 million from $339 million. Sequentially, net revenue fell 8% and net earnings fell 20% from the second quarter's $6.63 billion. Annualized return on equity was 18.7%, and the firm returned $4.49 billion to shareholders, including $3.00 billion of buybacks, alongside a $5.00 quarterly dividend.

The share reaction faded through the session: the stock rose 2.9% premarket and 3.6% in early trading, but was up only 0.2% by early afternoon, according to AFP. Going into the print, the shares were down 18.4% over three months, with 11 negative and 3 positive EPS revisions in the prior 90 days.

Chief executive David Solomon also addressed a Wall Street Journal report that the board had discussed him stepping down, with COO John Waldron as a possible successor: "there is no succession transition or timeline underway at Goldman Sachs," he said. Points to watch include whether financing-driven equities revenue holds if volatility cools, and how much of the advisory record carries forward after industry M&A volume fell 41% from the prior quarter to $993 billion, per Reuters.