Goldman Sachs net profit soars 80%, far exceeding expectations, with investment banking business reaching record highs

Investment banking revenue growth combined with a historic high in equity trading pushed the company’s net profit higher. Previously, analysts had unanimously expected net profit to be just $4.7 billion. Investment banking revenue increased by more than 50% year-over-year, reaching $3.4 billion and beating institutional expectations; meanwhile, the highlight of this earnings report remained the equity trading division. Goldman Sachs's equity trading revenue hit $7.4 billion, soaring 72% year-over-year and exceeding analysts' estimates by $2.4 billion. This sets a new single-quarter equity trading revenue record for the company, surpassing the previous all-time high achieved last quarter.