Goldman Sachs on Tuesday reported second-quarter earnings per diluted share of $20.98, nearly double the $10.91 posted a year earlier, as record equities trading propelled net revenues to an all-time high of $20.338 billion for the New York-based firm.
Net earnings for the three months to the end of June came in at $6.628 billion, producing an annualised return on equity of 23.5%. Goldman also increased its quarterly dividend by 11% to $5.00 per common share for the third quarter.
EQUITIES FRANCHISE HITS A NEW HIGH
Equities net revenues rose 72% year on year to a record $7.42 billion, reflecting significantly higher net revenues in intermediation and financing. Global Banking & Markets net revenues rose 53% to a record $15.52 billion, with investment banking fees up 55% to $3.40 billion and FICC up 32% to $4.59 billion.
Annualised return on tangible equity was 25.5%, and the efficiency ratio improved to 57.4% from 63.4% a year earlier.
Diluted EPS rose 92% year on year, while operating expenses rose 26% to $11.67 billion, primarily reflecting significantly higher compensation and benefits expenses and transaction-based expenses.
DIVIDEND LIFT SIGNALS CONFIDENCE
Asset & Wealth Management net revenues rose 20% to $4.60 billion, and assets under supervision reached a record $4.04 trillion, with record management and other fees.
The earnings results presentation, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and published on the firm's website, described net revenues and diluted EPS as records. Chairman and chief executive David Solomon said: "Our record performance this quarter reflects the strength of our global franchise, the depth of our relationships, and our ability to harness the power of One Goldman Sachs."
Goldman reported on the same day as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. It said its investment banking fees backlog increased from the first quarter.
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