Goldman Sachs Third-Quarter Revenue Slumps 20 Percent

@AFP
Goldman Sachs Third-Quarter Revenue Slumps 20 Percent

New York City (AFP) – U.S. investment banking titan Goldman Sachs posted Thursday a 2 percent profit fall for the third quarter as revenues dived 20 percent.

Goldman, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, said it had net earnings of $1.4 billion attributable to shareholders in the July-September quarter, or $2.88 per share.

That was slightly better than the $2.85 reported for the third quarter of 2012, but well below the $3.70 a share for the second quarter of this year.

Net revenue was $6.7 billion, down from $8.4 billion a year ago and $8.6 billion in the previous quarter.

New York-based Goldman’s profit topped Wall Street expectations of $2.43 earnings per share, but the slump in revenue widely missed the $7.4 billion average estimate.

Chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said the results reflected “a period of slow client activity,” but he noted “various signs that our clients are prepared to act on significant transactions.”

“As longer term U.S. budget issues are resolved, we could see an improvement in corporate and investor sentiment that would help lay the basis for a more sustained recovery.”

Net revenues in institutional client services dropped 32 percent from a year ago, to $2.86 billion.

The decline was led by a 44 percent slump in fixed-income revenues, the bank said, citing “significantly lower” revenues in mortgages and interest rate products, as well as in currencies.

Investment banking revenues were essentially flat at $1.2 billion.

Meanwhile, operating expenses at $4.6 billion were down 24 percent compared with a year ago, as the bank slashed employee compensation and benefits by 35 percent.

Shares in Dow member Goldman dropped 2.5 percent to $158.14 after the first half hour of Wall Street trade.

AFP Photo/Saul Loeb

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}