Goldman Sachs is a leading global financial institution that operates through three main business segments, providing a wide range of financial services and products . The company engages in strategic advisory, asset management, and consumer banking, catering to both institutional and individual clients . Its offerings include investment products, wealth management solutions, and consumer banking services, with a significant focus on facilitating client transactions and market-making activities .
- Global Banking & Markets - Provides strategic advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and restructurings, while facilitating client transactions and making markets in fixed income, equity, currency, and commodity products .
- Asset & Wealth Management - Manages assets and offers investment products across major asset classes, providing investing and wealth advisory solutions, financial planning, and brokerage transactions, while also issuing loans and accepting deposits through Marcus by Goldman Sachs .
- Platform Solutions - Focuses on consumer platforms and transaction banking, offering services like deposit-taking, payment solutions, credit card issuance through partnerships, and seller financing loans to small- and medium-sized retailers .
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| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
David Solomon ExecutiveBoard | Chairman and CEO | Chair, Board of Trustees, Hamilton College; Member, Board of Directors, Robin Hood Foundation; Member, Executive Committee, Partnership for New York City; Member, Board of Trustees, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital | David Solomon has been with Goldman Sachs since 1999, serving in various leadership roles before becoming CEO in October 2018 and Chairman in January 2019. | View Report → |
Carey Halio Executive | Global Treasurer | None | Carey Halio became Global Treasurer on May 1, 2024, with a transition period starting immediately prior. | |
Denis Coleman Executive | Chief Financial Officer | None | Denis Coleman joined Goldman Sachs in 1996 and became CFO in 2022. He has served in various roles within the firm. | |
John Waldron Executive | President and COO | None | John Waldron has been President and COO since October 2018, having previously co-headed the Investment Banking Division. | |
Kathryn Ruemmler Executive | Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel | None | Kathryn Ruemmler joined Goldman Sachs in April 2020 and became Chief Legal Officer in March 2021. She oversees all legal matters for the firm. | |
David Viniar Board | Independent Lead Director | None | David Viniar served as CFO from 1999 to 2013 and is now the Independent Lead Director. He has extensive experience in financial management and risk oversight. | |
Ellen Kullman Board | Independent Director | Amgen Inc.; Dell Technologies Inc. | Ellen Kullman has been an Independent Director since December 2016, with leadership experience at DuPont and Carbon 3D, Inc.. | |
Jan Tighe Board | Independent Director | Huntsman Corporation; IronNet, Inc.; Trustee, The MITRE Corporation; Strategic Advisory Committee, Idaho National Labs; Board Member, US Naval Academy Foundation; Strategic Advisory Group, Paladin Capital Group | Jan Tighe has been an Independent Director since December 2018, contributing expertise in technology risk and cybersecurity. | |
John B. Hess Board | Independent Director | None | John B. Hess joined the Board in June 2024, with a distinguished career at Hess Corporation and upcoming role at Chevron. | |
Kevin Johnson Board | Independent Director | None | Kevin Johnson joined the Board in October 2022, bringing significant experience as a technology and consumer leader, including roles at Starbucks, Microsoft, and Juniper Networks. | |
Kimberley Harris Board | Director, Chair of the Compensation Committee | Board of Directors, Advocates for Children of New York City; Co-Chair, Board of Directors, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law; Advisory Board, Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law; Board of Trustees, Mount Sinai Health System | Kimberley Harris joined the Board in May 2021 and chairs the Compensation Committee. She has extensive legal and regulatory experience. | |
Lakshmi Mittal Board | Independent Director | Executive Chairman, ArcelorMittal S.A.; Trustee, Cleveland Clinic; Member, Governing Board, Indian School of Business; Member, European Round Table for Industry; Chairman, Governing Council, LNM Institute of Information Technology; Member, Global Advisory Council, Harvard University | Lakshmi Mittal has been an Independent Director since June 2008, with extensive leadership experience in the steel and mining industry. | |
Mark Flaherty Board | Independent Director | None | Mark Flaherty has been an Independent Director since December 2014, bringing over 20 years of investment management experience. | |
Michele Burns Board | Independent Director | Anheuser-Busch InBev; Etsy, Inc.; Cisco Systems, Inc. | Michele Burns has been an Independent Director since October 2011, contributing her expertise in compensation, governance, and risk management. | |
Peter Oppenheimer Board | Independent Director, Chair of the Audit Committee | None | Peter Oppenheimer has been an Independent Director since March 2014, with extensive experience in financial management and technology oversight from his tenure at Apple. | |
Thomas Montag Board | Independent Director, Chair of the Risk Committee | CEO and Director, Rubicon Carbon, LLC; Board of Trustees, NYU Langone Medical Center; Board of Trustees, Northwestern University; Board of Directors, Hispanic Federation; Board of Directors, The Japan Society; Board of Directors, Deschutes Land Trust | Thomas Montag joined the Board in July 2023 and will chair the Risk Committee starting April 2024. He has over 35 years of financial services experience. |
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Given the ongoing regulatory uncertainty around Basel III proposals and potential impacts from upcoming elections, can you elaborate on why you believe a 90 basis point capital buffer is appropriate and how you plan to navigate potential changes in capital requirements?
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With the sale of the GM credit card business not expected to close until Q3 2025 and continued operating losses of $50–$60 million per quarter until then, how will you address the ongoing drag on earnings, and are there any additional financial obligations or impacts we should anticipate post-closing?
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While you've made progress in expanding lending within your Private Banking and Wealth Management segments, how will you sustain this growth amid competitive pressures, and what investments are you making to ensure your adviser base can support long-term expansion?
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Your stock is trading at 1.6 times book value, reflecting market expectations for mid-teens ROE, yet current returns are around 12–13%; what concrete steps are you taking to consistently achieve mid-teens returns, and what are the main challenges you foresee in reaching this target?
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In the trading business, with market share having peaked in 2022 and signs of increasing competition, how do you plan to maintain or grow your market share, and are specific competitors making significant inroads into your core areas?
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
21-building logistics portfolio | 2025 | Acquired by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Dalfen Industrial, this off-market deal involved a portfolio of 21 buildings (2.1 million square feet) located in Dallas, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, and Pennsylvania with 92% occupancy by prominent tenants like Amazon, aligning with trends in e-commerce and supply chain disaggregation. |
NN Investment Partners | 2022 | Completed in April 2022 via an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.82 billion, this acquisition enhanced Goldman Sachs’ asset management strategy by adding significant assets under supervision and detailed allocations in goodwill, intangible, and tangible assets. |
GreenSky, Inc. | 2022 | Finalized in March 2022 through an all-stock transaction valued at about $1.73 billion, the deal bolstered Goldman Sachs' consumer banking capabilities by expanding its point-of-sale financing offering and involved a merger into a GS Bank USA subsidiary with conversion of common units into GS shares. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for GS.
- Two-thirds of S&P companies beat earnings, with the Magnificent 6 (excluding NVIDIA) delivering 26% YoY earnings growth versus 4% for the rest of the index, a 22 ppt surprise over expectations.
- 60% of companies plan to raise prices and 75% will push back on suppliers to offset tariffs, with management confident in maintaining margins.
- The Mag 7 account for one-third of S&P market cap but have driven a disproportionate share of recent returns, fueled by AI-related investments.
- Goldman Sachs projects the S&P 500 to reach 6,000 by year-end (≈5% upside) and 6,900 in 12 months (≈10% upside), supported by 7% earnings growth and valuations at 23× forward earnings.
- Jan Hatzius highlights July payroll revisions and household‐survey softness pointing to a labor market slowdown, with GDP growth just above 1%, a “stall speed” scenario.
- These softer labor‐market data make a 25 bp Fed rate cut in September, followed by additional cuts in October and December, increasingly likely to move policy back to neutral (~3%).
- Goldman Sachs projects a 30% probability of recession over the next 12 months—double the historical average—while still expecting modest economic expansion.
- Consumer real spending has been flat for six months, and failure to resume growth would be a significant warning sign for the economy.
- Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives secures a majority stake in Mace Consult from Mace Group, carving out the consultancy to back its independent growth.
- Mace Consult delivered £687 million (US$859 million) in revenue in 2024 and has a workforce of over 5,200 across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and MEA.
- The deal, expected to close in 2025 pending regulatory approval, leaves Mace Group executives retaining minority stakes and joining the new board under Chair Mark Reynolds.
- GS Alternatives, part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, manages $3.3 trillion in assets globally and over $500 billion in alternatives, leveraging 30+ years’ experience in private equity.
- Goldman Sachs’ investment-grade credit desks in the US and euro markets are running at or near record issuance levels, with the euro market’s share of global financing at historic highs.
- The firm’s full suite of capital markets franchises—including leveraged finance and US IPOs—has seen consistent, robust activity year-to-date.
- A term premium of around 80–85 bps in the US 10-year Treasury is acting as a “tax” on corporate and mortgage borrowing, driven by elevated debt supply and uncertainty over Fed leadership.
- Markets are pricing in a few Fed rate cuts by year-end and more in 2026, but issuers remain cautious amid still-high long-term yields.
- Growing dissent risk on the Federal Open Market Committee post-Powell may lift volatility and risk premiums, with term premium potentially rising by 20–25 bps due to policy uncertainty.
- Best trading quarter ever: Goldman achieved its strongest trading results in history this period, driven by robust markets activity and improved business consistency under CEO David Solomon.
- Business diversification gains: Personal wealth management saw renewed momentum, with early signs of a turnaround in M&A and IPO services contributing to overall performance.
- Stable, less volatile earnings: The firm’s earnings have become more predictable—transitioning from episodic swings to a “well-oiled machine”—supporting expectations for an upward re-rating of its valuation multiple and presenting buying opportunities on share price dips.
- 2025 rate outlook: Solomon sees a “reasonable chance” of one or two Fed rate cuts next year but cautions it’s not certain.
- Fed independence: Emphasized that central bank independence in monetary policy is “very important” and must be preserved.
- Trade policy uncertainty: Noted that the impact of 10% base tariffs and special industry tariffs on growth remains unknown and trade deals have yet to deliver material effects.
- Europe’s fiscal shift: Described Europe’s move toward more stimulative spending on defense, industry, and infrastructure as positive for global growth, though execution risks persist.
- Kraft Heinz is reportedly splitting off slow-growth brands to focus on faster-growing lines
- Kenvue ousted CEO Thibaut Mongon and launched a strategic review after reporting –4% organic growth
- Becton Dickinson and Waters agreed to merge via a reverse Morris Trust, granting BD a 39.2% stake plus $4 billion in cash
- Huntington Bancshares will buy Veritex for $1.9 billion to expand into Texas markets
- Citizens JMP downgraded Goldman Sachs from buy to hold ahead of earnings, though deal flow may boost future results
- Goldman Sachs is piloting an agentic AI software engineer called Devin to augment its 12,000 human developers.
- Unlike basic AI assistants, Devin can autonomously plan, code, test and debug software tasks, marking a shift to agentic AI.
- The bank is partnering with startup Cognition—valued at $4 billion after 18 months and backed by Peter Thiel—to apply its reasoning model to Goldman’s proprietary data.
- Rival banks JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have already deployed OpenAI-based models internally, setting the competitive context.
- Headline jobs numbers overstate underlying weakness as private‐sector hiring was soft and gains were driven by state and local payrolls, likely due to seasonal adjustment issues.
- First Fed rate cut now expected in September, contingent on upcoming data; inflation has been running below prior forecasts so far.
- Effective average tariff rate projected to rise by about 14 percentage points (to ~17%), which supports modest growth of 1.25% on a Q4/Q4 basis but poses upside to inflation if higher‐than‐expected tariffs materialize.
- Recent tax‐cut bill is fiscally expansionary, boosting growth more in 2026, while 2025 GDP is still seen at around 1.25% before reverting toward a ~2% trend in 2026.
- U.S. recession probability stands at 30% over the next 12 months, above the historical average of 15%.
- Jim Cramer notes that Whirlpool, long a suffering stock trading near its 1983 levels due to competition from foreign manufacturers, has been disadvantaged by dumped imports.
- Recent US steel tariffs on foreign appliance makers like LG, Samsung and Haier shift the competitive landscape, putting Whirlpool in the driver’s seat as a potential beneficiary.
- Despite a 35-point decline, Whirlpool’s status as the only major American appliance manufacturer underpins its improving outlook.