NEW YORK, July 16, 2026, 12:05 EDT
- U.S. cash markets stayed open. Goldman was last at $1,110.41, off 3.6%.
- About 73% of Goldman’s revenue growth from a year ago came from trading, according to its filing.
- The trailing P/E came in at 20.3, compared to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) at 19.9.
Goldman Sachs dropped 3.6% by late morning Thursday, trading at $1,110.41 just before noon. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLF) was up 0.1%. On Tuesday, Goldman had set a record after posting results.
That gap raises questions about how solid Goldman’s beat was. Trading brought in $4.22 billion out of the $5.76 billion revenue jump from a year ago. That’s 73% of the increase, according to filings.
Equities and fixed-income trading brought in 59% of revenue for the quarter, up from 53% last year. The move prompts a direct question: how much of this can happen again?
The revenue bridge breaks down the sources of growth.
| Revenue area | Q2 2026, $bn | Q2 2025, $bn | Change, $bn | Share of total growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equities | 7.42 | 4.30 | 3.12 | 54.1% |
| FICC | 4.59 | 3.49 | 1.11 | 19.2% |
| Investment banking | 3.40 | 2.19 | 1.20 | 20.9% |
| Asset and wealth management | 4.60 | 3.83 | 0.77 | 13.3% |
| Other and platform | 0.34 | 0.77 | -0.44 | -7.6% |
| Total | 20.34 | 14.58 | 5.76 | 100.0% |
Numbers might not add up due to rounding. Percent changes are based on company-reported figures.
Goldman reported revenue of $20.34 billion and net income of $6.63 billion. Earnings came in at $20.98 a share, beating the $14.48 consensus. Return on equity was 23.5%.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) analysts, with Kian Abouhossein heading the team, said the results came in well above forecasts. “These results have significantly exceeded expectations,” they wrote. Reuters
Trading was strong across the board. Equities revenue surged 72% as derivatives and prime financing pushed numbers higher. FICC brought in 32% more revenue, with rates and commodities driving gains.
Goldman may still be looking at a shift. Investment-banking fees were up 55% to $3.40 billion. The bank’s fee backlog grew from both March and the end of last year. Asset and wealth-management revenue added 20%.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said business momentum picked up, pointing to AI infrastructure spending as just the start of a long cycle. He said that could lift financing demand past just a single choppy quarter.
Peers are less weighted toward markets. Morgan Stanley got around 41% of its revenue from equities and fixed income, while Goldman pulled in 59% from equities and FICC. Categories line up closely but aren’t the same.
But the valuation gap is slim. Goldman’s at about 3.0x book and 20.3x trailing earnings. Morgan Stanley’s trading close, at 3.2x book and 19.9x earnings.
The stock relies on making the handoff. If volatility settles down, the company’s fee income has to pick up some of the slack from lower trading gains.
Risks: Milder markets might dent trading revenue fast. Delays in deals could hurt fees. Goldman calls its capital ratios, balance sheet numbers, liquid assets and assets under supervision early figures.
