Goldman Sachs profit tumbles on real estate hits, banking slump

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc's profit plunged as the Wall Street giant notched one of its weakest quarters under Chief Executive Officer David Solomon. Earnings fell 58% on an investment-banking slump, real estate markdowns and a goodwill writedown in the consumer business, which houses the GreenSky lending business. Return on equity, a key measure of profitability, slid to 4% in the quarter the worst among the top US banks.

The firm had been actively tamping down expectations heading into the report, prompting analysts to slash their estimates for quarterly profit by almost half since mid-June. Shares of the company fell 1% in early New York trading. Goldman's management has been working to smooth the firm's sometimes volatile quarterly results, which featured big gains during the post-pandemic boom followed by a run of missed profitability goals.

Investors are looking to see whether the second quarter represents a trough for the New York-based company, with a steadier run of earnings gains ahead. Equities trading was one bright spot, coming in ahead of its major rivals at $3 billion in revenue, compared with estimates for $2.47 billion. Goldman's asset-and wealth-management business posted revenue of $3.05 billion, down 4% from a year earlier.