Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) revealed its earnings report for the June quarter this morning, Tuesday July 16, before the market opened. The company showed that it earned $3.70 per share in the three months period on revenue of $7.98 billion. Shares in the bank will open on today’s market at $163, after strong gains in the last five days of trading.
In the run up to the announcement of these figures, analysts were looking for earnings of $2.82 per share from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), on revenue of $8 billion. In the same three months of 2013 the bank earned $1.78 per share on revenue totaling $6.6 billion.
A Good Year For Goldman Sachs
So far in 2013, shares in the investment bank have risen by more than 27 percent. In the same period the S&P 500 has risen by just over 17 percent. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) have been performing incredibly well in a strong period for the market, though it is still under performing some of its rivals.
Examples of Goldman Sachs-beating performance in the US banking world include Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), which has seen its shares rise by 30 percent since January 1, and Morgan Stanley, whose shares have risen by close to 40 percent in 2013.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) is fond of beating expectations of late. The firm’s earnings and revenue had beaten consensus estimates for five quarters running before this morning’s earnings announcement. In the first quarter of 2013, the firm announced earnings per share of $4.29 on revenue of $10.1 billion. Analysts were looking for EPS of $3.88 on revenue of $9.7 billion by consensus.
Trouble ahead?
The investment banking world is changing. New laws are, slowly but surely, coming into force that seek to restrict the kind of business that banks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) can do, and the way it does it. These changes might impact the bank negatively going forward, though if it remains as flexible and adaptive as it’s known to be, it may eat into rival business.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) has already changed some of its business practices as a result of the Basel III rules coming down the line, and there may be more changes ahead. The bank, like its competitors, needs to respond quickly and effectively to regulatory changes. If it manages this and continues to perform at the high level it’s known for, the bank is likely to continue performing well.
