Oct 13, 2026 earnings call — Record revenues and strong financing growth
Goldman Sachs reported net revenues of $18.7 billion in Q3, with EPS of $17.01 and rising financing revenues driving durable results.
Revenue $18.7B (est $16.8B) · EPS $17.01 (est $12.86)
Key quotes
"Year-to-date, total financing revenues of $12.7 billion were a record and represented over 40% of combined FICC and Equities revenues."
"Gross third-party alternatives fundraising was $37 billion for the quarter and $122 billion for the year-to-date."
"we made a tax-efficient charitable contribution of approximately $450 million as part of a planned acceleration of our philanthropic efforts."
Analyst Q&A 12
tokenization and markets future
Q (Glenn Schorr · Evercore): He asked if anything one-off drove the strong trading quarter and how Goldman is investing for tokenization, DeFi and other market changes.
A: They said there was nothing unique to highlight for the quarter. They described ongoing investments in technology and digital asset capabilities, but said current activity in tokenization is small and at the margin.
"Yes. I don't see anything I'd call out just on the first thing just to put that aside." — David Solomon (CEO·CHAIR)
capital use and impact of higher rates
Q (L. Erika Penala · UBS): She asked whether higher long-end rates are chilling activity and how to think about capital consumption and the 4Q buffer.
A: They said they run with a 50 to 100 basis point capital buffer and are currently at the 100 basis point level. They feel they generate capital from earnings and are comfortable deploying into an active fourth quarter while managing capital allocation "clients first".
"We talk about running with a 50 to 100 basis point buffer." — David Solomon (CEO·CHAIR)
AI data center financing risk
Q (Ebrahim Poonawala · BofA): He asked if financing will be the choke point for AI CapEx and how equity financing affects earnings durability versus cyclicality.
A: They said nobody knows the exact path and financing needs are significant, so they will be disciplined in underwriting projects. They argued that over 3–5 years, growth in markets and GDP should make the financing and prime businesses durable despite quarter-to-quarter cyclicality.
"we have an extraordinary obligation to be very disciplined about what we underwrite." — David Solomon (CEO·CHAIR)
investment banking cycle and buybacks
Q (Chinedu Bolu · Autonomous): He wanted color on where Investment Banking stands in the cycle and why Goldman is buying back stock while balance sheet demand grows.
A: They said capital markets activity remains strong and above historical averages, though IPOs softened for valuation reasons. On capital management, they will prioritize deploying into the franchise and also continue to grow the dividend and return excess to shareholders with a similar approach into 2027.
"We will deploy into the franchise as a matter of priority." — Denis Coleman (CFO)
sustainability of tech supercycle
Q (Michael Mayo · Wells Fargo): He asked if funding or other constraints have weakened the tech supercycle view compared with months ago, and about succession headlines.
A: They said the technology supercycle remains very strong, though higher rates, geopolitical or local political issues could slow some projects. On succession, they reiterated there is no succession transition or timeline underway at Goldman Sachs.
"Yes. I do think it's a very strong technology supercycle, Mike, and there's no -- there's no way to step away from that, okay?" — David Solomon (CEO·CHAIR)
private IG financing and SLR limits
Q (Steven Chubak · Wolfe): He asked how activity might migrate between public and private markets for AI CapEx financing, and how much SLR buffer Goldman will run while growing financing.
A: They said funding will come from both public and private markets and Goldman is uniquely positioned to advise, originate, structure and allocate capital across public and private pools. On SLR, they said the biggest balance sheet extension is behind them and they are migrating to a zone running a buffer in SLR, so do not expect significant movement from here.
"We're now migrating to a zone where we run a buffer in SLR, much like we run in CET1 ratio." — Denis Coleman (CFO)
private equity sponsor activity
Q (Manan Gosalia · Morgan Stanley): He asked why sponsor monetization is below historical average and whether midterms affect deal timing.
A: They said sponsors have been slow to monetize 2020–2021 vintages and are using continuation funds and optionality to wait for better marks, so activity has been slower than expected but will come. They do not see the midterms materially pausing activity and think companies still have a multi-year strategic window to pursue scale.
"The sponsors have been slow to monetize and turn over the capital portfolios from the 2020 and 2021 vintages." — David Solomon (CEO·CHAIR)
financing growth drivers and comp ratio
Q (Brennan Hawken · BMO): He asked whether the quarter showed degrossing in financing and whether comp ratio improvement is due to mix or talent market changes.
A: They said financing grew about 3% sequentially and there was some deleveraging, but the business remains healthy and supply-constrained. On comp ratio, they said the stated ratio is their best estimate for the year and they are focused on building durable, platform-connected businesses that can deliver operating leverage while still competing for top talent.
"it is our best estimate at the moment for what we expect for the year." — Denis Coleman (CFO)
noncomp expense and Wealth flows
Q (Daniel Fannon · Jefferies): He asked about outlook for noncomp expenses given AI investments and whether Wealth net inflows had any one-time items.
A: They said transaction-based expenses are the biggest driver and will grow as client activity, especially in equities and Asia, remains strong. For Wealth, they said the inflows are not one-time and reflect multiyear adviser additions, geographic expansion and strong investment performance within a sustained strategic push.
"By far, the biggest component is transaction-based expenses." — Denis Coleman (CFO)
Asset Management fundraising and gaps
Q (Devin Ryan · Citizens Bank): He asked why fundraising targets increased and whether growth is opportunistic, plus where Asset Management remains subscale.
A: They said the larger target reflects a long-term, 6-plus year strategy to scale the platform and stronger institutional and UHN demand, not opportunism. They acknowledged gaps remain across the platform and they will consider acquisitions where cultural and team fit meet a high bar to increase scale.
"This is a concerted strategy that started 6-plus years ago to really scale the platform." — David Solomon (CEO·CHAIR)
credit provision drivers and geographic expansion
Q (Gerard Cassidy · RBC): He asked what drove the higher provision and whether there are other regions like Asia to push growth into.
A: They said two drivers were portfolio growth from deliberate capital deployment and elevated impairments on a few idiosyncratic names that required incremental charges. On geography, they said Asia was chosen because Goldman was underscaled there and the economics were attractive, but other global opportunities remain to drive incremental growth.
"Our conclusion is they're highly idiosyncratic and noncorrelated set of names, but we had a couple of different names that we ended up taking incremental impairments against in the quarter." — Denis Coleman (CFO)
ROE outperformance and political risk
Q (Christopher McGratty · KBW): He asked how much of the ROE outperformance is cyclical versus structural and what a divided government might mean for capital markets.
A: They said much of the improvement is structural, driven by a broader, more durable franchise and operational changes that uplift baseline returns. They also noted the current environment is very good and declined to predict post-midterm effects, saying they'll watch and prepare for whatever comes.
"I think a lot of it is we're structurally running the firm as a broader, more durable franchise with higher fundamental returns." — David Solomon (CEO·CHAIR)