Goldman Sachs' Q1 revenue increased by 6% year-on-year, exceeding expectations, with record stock trading income, while investment banking revenue decreased by 8.1% year-on-year | Earnings Report Insights

Benefiting from a market with increased volatility, Goldman Sachs' overall performance in the first quarter exceeded expectations, with stock trading revenue reaching a record high. However, due to the impact of U.S. tariff policies, uncertainty remains for the future, and the group's leader, David Solomon, called for a clearer direction in Trump's policy agenda.

On Monday, before the U.S. stock market opened, Goldman Sachs announced its financial report for the first quarter of 2025, with the following key points:

• Revenue: Net revenue increased by 6% year-on-year to $15.06 billion, marking the third-highest level in the company's history, surpassing analysts' expectations of $14.8 billion.
• Profitability: Net profit was $4.74 billion, with earnings per share of $14.12, a year-on-year increase of 22%, also better than expected; the annualized return on equity (ROE) reached 16.9%, above market estimates.
• Business Highlights: Stock trading revenue increased by 27% year-on-year to $4.19 billion, setting a historical record; the global banking and markets division performed well, with revenue of $10.71 billion, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 26%, while investment banking revenue was $1.91 billion, down 8.1% year-on-year.
• Asset Management: Asset and wealth management revenue was $3.68 billion, with assets under management reaching a record $31.7 trillion, an increase of $36 billion from the previous quarter.
• Capital Return: In the first quarter, 710,000 shares were repurchased, valued at $4.36 billion; a stock repurchase plan of up to $40 billion was announced.

Goldman Sachs' stock rose nearly 3% before the U.S. market opened. Despite the strong performance in the first quarter, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon warned in the earnings report statement:

"While our strong performance in the first quarter indicates that clients turn to Goldman Sachs for execution and insights during times of significant uncertainty, the operating environment we face as we enter the second quarter is markedly different from earlier this year."

Explosive Growth in Stock Trading Business

Goldman Sachs' global banking and markets division performed exceptionally well, with revenue reaching $10.71 billion, a 10% increase year-on-year and a 26% quarter-on-quarter surge.

Notably, stock trading revenue hit a historical high of $4.19 billion, a 27% increase year-on-year, primarily driven by derivatives trading and portfolio financing. This performance continued the strong momentum seen last week among other Wall Street giants, including JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, which also recorded record stock trading revenues during the same period. It is worth noting that this performance is built on the foundation of nearly a 50% increase in Goldman Sachs' stock trading division revenue in 2024.

Additionally, revenue from the Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodities (FICC) division reached $4.4 billion, a 2% year-on-year increase, slightly below expectations. Although the growth rate was relatively moderate, it still marked one of the highest quarterly revenues in the bank's history; the financing business within this division performed strongly, particularly in mortgage and structured lending.

Investment Banking Business Facing Challenges

Despite the impressive performance of the trading division, the same market volatility has posed challenges for Goldman Sachs' traditional strength—its investment banking business.

In the first quarter, Goldman Sachs' investment banking fee revenue was $1.91 billion, down 8.1% year-on-year, primarily due to a decline in merger and acquisition advisory services. As market turmoil intensifies, clients' willingness to complete large mergers and financing transactions has significantly decreased Solomon stated in a statement:

Although the operating environment as we entered the second quarter is significantly different from earlier this year, we remain confident in our ability to continue supporting our clients.

Meanwhile, the bond underwriting business performed well, with revenue increasing by 8% to $752 million, primarily due to an increase in asset-backed securities and investment-grade bond activities. Notably, the backlog of investment banking orders has increased compared to the end of 2024, providing potential momentum for future performance recovery.

The company continues to maintain its dominant position in the capital markets, ranking first in global mergers and acquisitions, equity issuance, and common stock issuance markets, while ranking second in high-yield bond issuance and leveraged loan issuance.

Asset Management Steady with Changes

The revenue from the Asset and Wealth Management division was $3.68 billion, a slight decrease of 3% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to a significant decline in equity and debt investment income. However, management and other fee income grew by 10% to $2.7 billion, reflecting the growth in managed asset scale.

As of the end of the quarter, the managed asset scale reached a record $31.7 trillion, an increase of $36 billion from the previous quarter.

Revenue from private banking and lending business grew by 6% year-on-year to $725 million, mainly benefiting from the increase in net interest income from lending activities. Incentive expenses increased by 47% year-on-year to $129 million.

Capital Returns and Shareholder Value

In the first quarter, Goldman Sachs returned $5.34 billion in capital to shareholders, including $4.36 billion in stock repurchases (a total of 7.1 million shares repurchased at an average cost of $610.57 per share) and $976 million in common stock dividends.

The board approved a stock repurchase plan of up to $40 billion, reflecting confidence in the company's long-term value. The book value per share increased by 2.2% during the quarter, reaching $344.20