Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) posted first-quarter results that blew past expectations as its traders navigated a surge in market volatility sparked by the war in Ukraine.
The bank said Thursday that profit fell 42% to $3.94 billion, or $10.76 per share, from a year earlier on lower investment banking fees. While revenue sagged 27% to $12.93 billion, that was a full $1 billion more than analysts had expected for the quarter.
“It was a turbulent quarter dominated by the devastating invasion of Ukraine,” CEO David Solomon said in the release.
“The rapidly evolving market environment had a significant effect on client activity as risk intermediation came to the fore and equity issuance came to a near standstill. Despite the environment, our results in the quarter show we continued to effectively support our clients.”
Goldman seems to have exceeded other Wall Street firms in benefiting from the sudden market upheaval caused by the Ukraine conflict. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) all posted results that topped expectations thanks to better-than-expected trading, but the magnitude of Goldman’s beat was larger than some of the rivals.
Goldman’s fixed income desk produced $4.72 billion in first-quarter revenue, nearly $1.7 billion more than analysts surveyed by StreetAccount expected, thanks to strong activity in currencies and commodities, the bank said. Equities desks produced $3.15 billion in revenue, about $570 million more than expected.
GS shares leaped $9.63, or 3%, to $331.60