Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) reported its earnings this morning before opening bell, soaring past the expectations of Wall Street. Excluding items, the firm’s quarterly earnings were $4.29 per share, compared to $3.92 in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose to $10.09 billion, compared to $9.95 billion one year ago.
Consensus for the firm’s earnings was $3.88 per share on $9.715 billion in revenue. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) reported higher investment banking revenue of $1.57 billion, compared to $1.16 billion in the same quarter a year ago. It also set a new record in debt underwriting revenue: $694 million. It cited leveraged finance and commercial mortgage-related activity as the main areas of growth.
“Our strong client franchise across our businesses drove generally solid results,” said Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Chairman and CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein in a statement. “Still, the potential for macro-economic instability was felt in the quarter and constrained overall corporate and investor activity.”
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) recorded lower net revenues in Institutional Client Services, which fell 10 percent to $5.14 billion compared to the same quarter a year ago, although they were 18 percent higher than the previous quarter. The firm’s net revenues in Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Client Execution were also lower, coming in at $3.22 billion, a decrease of 7 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
The firm’s operating expenses were $6.72 billion, unchanged from the first quarter of last year but 36 percent higher than the previous quarter.
Shares of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) fell almost 2 percent in trading on Monday and continued falling slightly in pre-market trading to $146.13 per share.
