⚡What does Goldman Sachs do, in 30 seconds?
Goldman Sachs is a New York bank that advises companies on deals, helps them raise money and trades for clients 221 2 2. It also invests money for institutions and individuals 2. In FY2025 its revenue was $58.3bn ✓, and it kept $17.2bn ✓ as profit.
📱What does Goldman Sachs sell?
Goldman has three businesses. Global Banking & Markets is the biggest, with 71% ✓ of FY2025 revenue. Since 2023 Goldman has been narrowing its consumer business 5. Here is what each part does and who uses it.
Global Banking & Markets
This is the deal and trading business, with $41.5bn ✓ of revenue in FY2025. It advises companies on mergers, buying and selling business units, and break-ups, and it helps companies and governments sell new stocks and bonds 2. It also buys and sells bonds, currencies, commodities and stocks for clients, and lends to them for their trading 2. From the fourth quarter of 2025, Goldman moved its deposits, payments and cash management business for companies into this unit from Platform Solutions 3.
👥 Companies, governments, cities and states, and professional investors such as funds that manage retirement and insurance savings 2.
Asset & Wealth Management
This unit invests money for others, with $16.7bn ✓ of revenue in FY2025. It runs funds, ETFs and private accounts in stocks, bonds, private equity, property and hedge funds 2. It earns fees mostly based on the money it looks after, extra fees when funds beat their targets, and income from lending 2. Goldman's assets under supervision, across the whole firm, reached a record $4.10tn at the end of September 2026 4.
👥 Institutions and very wealthy people, plus savers who open Marcus by Goldman Sachs accounts 2 2.
Platform Solutions
This unit now earns substantially all its revenue from issuing the Apple Card and taking deposits from Apple Card customers, plus businesses Goldman has already left 2. Its revenue fell to $0.2bn ✓ in FY2025, from $2.1bn ✓ in FY2024. Goldman said the Apple Card deal cut its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 by $2.26bn 3. In January 2026 Goldman agreed to move the Apple Card to a new issuer over about 24 months 3.
👥 Apple Card holders, until the card moves to its new issuer 53.
How the mix has shifted
Where the customers are
Most of Goldman's revenue comes from the Americas, at 63% ✓ in FY2025. Europe, the Middle East and Africa added 24% ✓, and Asia 13% ✓. At the end of 2025, half of its staff worked in the Americas and 30% in Asia 25.
💸How does Goldman Sachs make money?
Follow the money from left to rightfrom top to bottom: what comes in (after paying interest to savers and lenders), what it costs to run, what is lost on bad loans, and what is left as profit.
Goldman makes most of its money from deals and trading: Global Banking & Markets brought in 71% ✓ of FY2025 revenue. For a bank, revenue means what is left after paying interest on the money it borrows. Goldman calls this net revenues, and they came to $58.3bn ✓ in FY2025. In 2025 Goldman earned $9.34bn of investment banking fees, $14.52bn from trading bonds, currencies and commodities, and $16.54bn from its stocks business 1415. Asset & Wealth Management adds fees for managing money, plus lending income 2.
Deposits made up 39% of Goldman's funding at the end of 2025 20. Borrowing backed by assets added 24%, unsecured borrowing 27% and shareholders' money 10% 20.
Running costs took $37.5bn ✓. Bad loans cost Goldman nothing overall in FY2025. It released more money set aside for loan losses than it added, so this line came to -$1.1bn ✓ and added to profit. The Apple Card deal released $2.48bn of loan-loss reserves 3. It also cut fourth-quarter 2025 revenue by $2.26bn 3. Pretax profit was $21.9bn ✓. After tax of $4.7bn ✓, Goldman kept $17.2bn ✓. Out of every $100 of revenue, about $64 ✓ went on running costs, and Goldman kept about $30 ✓ as profit.
Out of every $100 of revenue in FY2025…
Interest, investment gains and other income added +$2 for every $100 of revenue, so the slices above add up to a little more than $100.
⏱️ Goldman Sachs by the clock
Spread the FY2025 totals evenly over its 365 days and you get this. Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K [6].
📈How is Goldman Sachs doing?
Goldman has grown, but in fits and starts. From FY2015 to FY2025, revenue grew 5.6% ✓ a year on average. It rose in only 6 ✓ of those 10 ✓ years. Profit grew faster, from $6.1bn ✓ in FY2015 to $17.2bn ✓ in FY2025. The share of revenue left as pretax profit rose from 26.0% ✓ to 37.5% ✓.
The four quarters to 30 June 2026 look stronger still. Revenue reached $66.2bn ✓, up 17.8% ✓ on the four quarters before, and profit was $21.0bn ✓. In the July to September 2026 quarter, revenue was $18.68bn, up 23% on a year earlier, and profit was $5.29bn 21. In that quarter, revenue from its stocks business jumped 72% on a year earlier to $6.44bn, and advice revenue hit a record 214.
📝 The report card
Goldman earns middling marks for growth and profit, and low marks for its equity cushion and steadiness. Cash generation is not graded ✓ for banks. Every company is graded on the same fixed scale, so an A means the same thing on every page. The strip shows where Goldman Sachs (orange) and its 4 peers land; further right is better.
Growth
Goldman's revenue grew 7.2% ✓ a year over its last three fiscal years, which earns a C ✓. That ranked 3 ✓ of 5 ✓ banks, a little under the 7.8% ✓ peer median. JPMorgan grew 12.3% ✓ a year, good for a B ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Growing revenue is the engine of a business. For a bank, revenue is what it earns after paying interest to savers and lenders; for an insurer, it is mostly premiums. Mature giants rarely grow fast, so 5% a year already earns a C.
Profitability
Over the last three years combined, Goldman earned 11.0% ✓ profit on its owners' money, which earns a C ✓. That matches the 11.0% ✓ peer median. JPMorgan earned 15.9% ✓, an A ✓, while Citigroup earned 5.8% ✓, an F ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Banks and insurers work with other people's money, so profit margins on revenue say little. Return on equity shows how much profit they make on the owners' money; above 15% is excellent for a big bank or insurer.
Cash generation
Not graded for banks and insurers: their cash flow mostly moves customers' money (deposits, loans, premiums), so it says little about the business.
Cash generation is not graded ✓ for banks. A bank's cash flow mostly shows customers' money moving in and out. Goldman's operating cash flow swung from $8.7bn ✓ in FY2022 to -$45.2bn ✓ in FY2025, which says little about how the business did.
Balance sheet
Shareholders' equity was 6.9% ✓ of everything Goldman owned at the end of FY2025, which earns a D ✓. That ranked 5 ✓ of 5 ✓, below the 8.1% ✓ peer median. Bank of America, at 8.9% ✓, earns a C ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Owners' equity is the cushion that absorbs losses before customers' money is at risk. The thicker the cushion compared with everything the company owns, the safer it is.
Steadiness
Goldman's yearly revenue growth swings by 15.5% ✓, measured as a standard deviation, which earns a D ✓. Revenue fell 20.2% ✓ in FY2022 and then rose 15.7% ✓ in FY2024. Bank of America, at 3.8% ✓, earns an A ✓.
Why this measure? (lower is better)
Steady growers are easier to plan around. Big swings mean revenue depends on interest rates, markets or one-off events.
🧑🏫 How the grades work
- Same scale for everyone. Each measure has fixed cut-offs (shown under each strip). Clear the A line and you get an A, whatever your peers do.
- Three years together. Profitability and cash generation add up the last three fiscal years before dividing, so one unusual year counts for less than it would on its own (a year much bigger than the others still weighs most).
- Banks and insurers are graded differently. They lend or invest customers' money, so profitability uses return on equity, the balance sheet uses the owners' share of total assets, and cash generation is not graded. They are compared only with other banks and insurers.
- Peers for context. The rank shows how Goldman Sachs compares with the group. Companies within 0.1 percentage point share a rank.
- Same source. Every company's figures come from its own latest annual report (10-K), so fiscal years end in different months.
- Judgement, openly stated. The cut-offs are QuantVantage.ai's view of what good looks like for a large, established company. They are not a forecast or a recommendation.
11 years at a glance
Where the cash goes
Goldman hands much of its profit back to shareholders. From FY2015 to FY2025 it spent $94.2bn ✓ on dividends and buybacks. In FY2025 alone it paid out $17.6bn ✓, or 102.7% ✓ of profit. After the Fed's 2026 stress test, Goldman planned to raise its quarterly dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 a share 29.
🧮Ratios 101: what are Goldman Sachs' key financial ratios?
Ratios shrink Goldman's big numbers into easy comparisons. For a bank, profit on the owners' money and on total assets matter most. A ratio divides one number by another so companies of any size can be compared. Each card shows the formula with Goldman Sachs' real FY2025 numbers, the peer median and the trend.
💰 Profitability: how much of each dollar of revenue is kept?
Net margin
The bottom line: profit after interest and taxes, per dollar of revenue.
👉 Goldman keeps 29.5% ✓ of revenue as final profit, up from 18.0% ✓ in FY2015 and above the 25.4% ✓ peer median.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 15% is strong; one-off tax items can move it in a single year.
Return on equity (ROE)
Profit earned for each dollar that shareholders have left in the company.
👉 ROE of 13.7% ✓ tops the 12.6% ✓ peer median and is up from 7.0% ✓ in FY2015. Goldman's own measure, which uses average common equity, was 15.0% for 2025 23.
📏 Rule of thumb: Around 15% or more is good, but buybacks shrink equity and can make ROE look huge.
⚙️ Efficiency: how hard do the assets work?
Return on assets (ROA)
Profit earned from everything the company owns, however it was paid for.
👉 Banks earn thin profits on huge balance sheets. Goldman made 0.9% ✓ on $1,809.3bn ✓ of assets, close to the 1.0% ✓ peer median and up from 0.7% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: For big banks, about 1% on assets is usual and above 1.2% is strong; insurers are not judged on that scale.
💵 Cash and owners: where does the money end up?
Stock pay
Pay given to staff in shares instead of cash. It is a real cost to owners because it adds shares.
👉 Stock pay is 5.9% ✓ of revenue, more than double the 2.7% ✓ peer median, though down from 6.7% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Banks and insurers pay part of their staff in shares, so a few percent of revenue is normal.
Shareholder payout
How much of the year's profit was handed back to owners.
👉 Goldman returned 102.7% ✓ of FY2025 profit, up from 95.6% ✓ in FY2015 and above the 93.1% ✓ peer median.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 100% means it returned more than it earned, using cash savings or debt.
Ratios use fiscal-year-end balance sheet values. Inputs are shown rounded, so dividing them can differ from the result in the last digit. A peer median leaves out peers that do not report the inputs, or where the ratio means nothing (for example, negative shareholders' equity). Rules of thumb are general guides from QuantVantage.ai, not hard limits. No share-price ratios (like price-to-earnings) are shown on this page.
🥊Who are Goldman Sachs' competitors?
Goldman competes with big banks that also advise on deals and trade for investors 1416 1415 111213. Morgan Stanley does similar work but leans more on wealth management 1417.
| Company | Where they compete | Revenue | Growth/yr (3y) | Pretax margin | Return on equity (3y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs (GS, FY2025) | Deal advice, stock and bond offerings, trading for big investors, and managing money 2 2 2 | $58.3bn | 7.2% | 37.5% | 11.0% |
| Bank of America (BAC, FY2025) | Deal advice, offerings and trading; in the third quarter of 2026 its investment banking fees were $1.8bn, against $3.22bn at Goldman 111213 | $113.1bn | 6.0% | 33.3% | 9.4% |
| Citigroup (C, FY2025) | Trading for large clients; Citi's Markets business earned $22.0bn in 2025, $16.2bn of it in fixed income 1415 | $85.2bn | 4.2% | 23.3% | 5.8% |
| JPMorgan Chase (JPM, FY2025) | Investment banking, with $9.6bn of fees in 2025 against Goldman's $9.34bn, plus a large consumer bank 1416 | $182.4bn | 12.3% | 39.8% | 15.9% |
| Morgan Stanley (MS, FY2025) | Deal advice and stock trading, plus $31.8bn of Wealth Management net revenues in 2025 1417 | $70.6bn | 9.6% | 31.1% | 12.5% |
Goldman also competes with independent advice firms, which some clients see as less exposed to conflicts of interest 18. It says some electronic trading systems compete with its own trading 19. It also faces banks that are larger, have more capital and may have a stronger local presence outside the US 18.
🧭Goldman Sachs SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
💪 Strengths
- Goldman reported that it ranked first in mergers and in stock offerings from January to September 2026 4.
- Goldman's assets under supervision hit a record $4.10tn at the end of September 2026, its 35th quarter in a row of long-term fee-based net inflows 4.
- Its efficiency ratio improved to 59.4% for the first nine months of 2026, from 62.1% a year earlier 21.
- It kept 29.5% ✓ of FY2025 revenue as profit, above the 25.4% ✓ peer median.
🩹 Weaknesses
- Revenue swings a lot from year to year, which earns a D ✓ for steadiness.
- Deposits were only 39% of its funding at the end of 2025 20.
- Its equity cushion of 6.9% ✓ of assets was the thinnest of the five banks at the end of FY2025, a D ✓.
- Platform Solutions lost $997m before tax in 2024, then made $151m in 2025 14.
🚀 Opportunities
- In 2026 Goldman set medium-term targets for Asset & Wealth Management of about 17% to 19% return on equity and about a 30% pretax margin, against 12.5% and 25% in 2025 14.
- Assets in alternative investments hit a record $491bn in the third quarter of 2026 4.
- It agreed in August 2026 to buy NEOS Investments, which ran $30bn in 19 options-based income ETFs at 30 June 2026 22.
- Goldman says handing off the Apple Card will substantially complete the narrowing of its consumer business 25.
⚠️ Threats
- Goldman says its results depend heavily on healthy markets and investor confidence, and weak or uncertain markets can hurt them 19.
- Its extra capital charge as a global systemically important bank rises from 3.0% for 2025 to 3.5% for 2026 20.
- Goldman's board noted in January 2026 that banks, alternative asset managers and other firms compete for its best staff 23.
- Electronic trading and new technology, including cryptocurrencies and AI, have increased competition 19.
🏰Does Goldman Sachs have a moat?
Why 4?
Goldman says it has been a leader in merger advice, and has held a leading position in worldwide stock offerings and IPOs, for many years 2. It reported ranking first in mergers and in stock offerings from January to September 2026 4. But it says reputation and price are among several things it competes on, and some clients see independent advice firms as less exposed to conflicts of interest 18.
Why 3?
Clients kept adding money: long-term net inflows were $168bn in 2025, up from $52bn in 2023 14. At the end of 2025, wealth clients had about $1.9tn of assets with Goldman 14. But companies ask banks to commit capital, such as joining their loans, when handing out deal work, and Goldman faces pressure to do so to keep its share 18.
Why 3?
As a market maker, Goldman quotes prices to clients worldwide in thousands of products, and it says this is crucial to client ties 2. Its Marquee platform gives big investors data, risk tools and trading 2. But Goldman says trading is moving to electronic systems, some of which compete with its own 19.
Why 3?
Goldman is a bank holding company regulated by the Federal Reserve, with a New York State-chartered bank 2. As a global systemically important bank, its extra capital charge is 3.5% for 2026 20. Goldman says rules that do not apply to smaller advice firms could affect how well it competes with them 18.
A moat is what keeps rivals from taking a company's customers and profits. Scores are QuantVantage.ai's judgement (5 = strongest), set with the same rubric on every explainer (orange is Goldman Sachs; grey dots are peers).
🔭What should you watch next?
LCN Capital Partners deal
Goldman expects to close its purchase of this property investment manager by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval 30.
Quarterly dividend
The board declared a dividend of $5.00 a share, paid on 30 December 2026 to holders on record on 2 December 2026 21.
NEOS Investments deal
Goldman expects the purchase to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval and other conditions 22.
Stress capital buffer
Goldman's stress capital buffer is set at 3.4% through 30 September 2027 29.
Higher capital charge
Data for 2025 put Goldman's extra capital charge in the 4.0% range, effective no earlier than January 2028 20.
📚Learn the words
❓Frequently asked questions about Goldman Sachs
How does Goldman Sachs make money?
Goldman makes money mainly from deals and trading: Global Banking & Markets brought in 71% ✓ of FY2025 revenue. In 2025 it earned $9.34bn of investment banking fees, $14.52bn from trading bonds, currencies and commodities, and $16.54bn from its stocks business 1415. It also earns fees for managing money 2.
Is Goldman Sachs a bank?
Goldman is a bank holding company regulated by the Federal Reserve 2. Its US bank, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, holds a New York State charter 2.
Can ordinary people bank with Goldman?
Ordinary savers can open deposit accounts with Marcus by Goldman Sachs 2. Since 2023 Goldman has sold substantially all of its Marcus loans, plus GreenSky and the GM credit card program 5.
What will happen to the Apple Card?
It is moving to a new issuer, JPMorgan's Chase unit 1416. The move is expected to take about 24 months from January 2026, and Goldman runs the card until then 53.
What are assets under supervision?
They are the money Goldman manages for clients, plus other client assets where it does not have full control 22. They reached a record $4.10tn at the end of September 2026 4.
What return does Goldman aim for?
Goldman's target is a return on average common equity of 14% to 16% through the ups and downs of markets 14. For 2025 it reported 15.0% on that measure 23.
Who runs Goldman Sachs?
David Solomon has been chief executive since October 2018 and chairman since January 2019 24.
🎮Play: higher or lower, then test yourself
Figures come from each company's latest annual report (10-K); fiscal years end in different months. Sources: [6] [7] [8] [9] [10].
🧠 Test yourself
5 quick questions. Score: 0 / 5
2. Which part of Goldman brought in the most revenue in FY2025?
3. Roughly how much profit did Goldman make each second in FY2025?
4. Who advised Goldman when it agreed to buy NEOS Investments?
5. How many languages did Goldman's staff speak at the end of 2025?
🔎Sources and method
Every figure comes from a source listed here or is calculated from those sources (marked ✓). Company financials are taken from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) as tagged in XBRL. Peer grades rank the same measures across the company and its peers. This page contains no share-price data and no valuation.
- Goldman Sachs (GS) Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed 2026-02-25 — revenue by product, segment and geography (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 business: segments, products, clients, bank holding company status (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 8-K, January 7, 2026 — Apple Card program transition and segment changes (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 8-K exhibit 99.2, third quarter 2026 earnings presentation — Third quarter 2026 highlights: deal rankings, assets under supervision, alternatives (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — MD&A other matters: narrowing focus on consumer-related activities (accessed 2026-10-30)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Goldman Sachs (GS) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ (BAC) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: CITIGROUP INC (C) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO (JPM) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: MORGAN STANLEY (MS) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Bank of America third-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 (filed 2026-10-14) — Third-quarter 2026 GWIM, Global Banking and Global Markets pages: client balances, fees, client relationships, trading revenue (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs third-quarter 2026 earnings results presentation, Form 8-K exhibit (filed 2026-10-13) — Goldman Sachs third-quarter 2026 investment banking fees, FICC and equities net revenues (accessed 2026-10-30)
- The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-02-25) — Goldman Sachs business segments and what Global Banking & Markets does (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — MD&A: 2025 segment results, efficiency ratio, assets under supervision, targets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Citigroup Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — 2025 Markets revenues, investment banking fees, efficiency ratio (accessed 2026-10-30)
- JPMorgan Chase Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Investment banking fees 2025, overhead ratio, Apple Card transaction (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — 2025 Equity and Wealth Management net revenues, expense efficiency ratio (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 competition: competitor types and competitive factors (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1A risk factors: dependence on market conditions, client base, electronic trading (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — MD&A: funding sources and G-SIB surcharge (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 8-K exhibit 99.1, third quarter 2026 earnings results — Third quarter 2026 results by segment, dividend, efficiency ratio (accessed 2026-10-30)
- NEOS ETF Trust Form DEFA14A, August 13, 2026 (Goldman Sachs release on NEOS) — Agreement to acquire NEOS Investments and expected closing (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 8-K, January 23, 2026 — Full-year 2025 net revenues, net earnings and ROE (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs proxy statement (DEF 14A), March 2026 — Director biography of the chairman and CEO (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 human capital: headcount, offices, countries and languages (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 2 properties: headquarters and office space (accessed 2026-10-30)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Goldman Sachs (GS) — quarterly 10-Q/10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Goldman Sachs (GS) — balance sheet at 2026-06-30 (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Goldman Sachs Form 8-K exhibit 99.1, June 24, 2026 — 2026 stress test result, capital buffer and planned dividend (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Asset Management press release, August 18, 2026 — Agreement to acquire LCN Capital Partners and expected closing (accessed 2026-10-30)