Goldman (GS.US) exceeded expectations in Q4 across the board! Stock trading revenue reached a record high.

Goldman (GS.US) released its fourth-quarter 2024 financial results. The company's Q4 revenue was US$13.87bn, up 23% YoY, topping the market's expectation of US$12.37bn; net interest income (NII) was US$2.35bn, up 75% YoY, topping the market's expectation of US$2.11bn. Net profit was US$4.11bn, up 105% YoY, driven by strong growth in investment banking, asset management, and a US$472mn surprise gain from a balance sheet bet. Diluted EPS was US$11.95, topping the market's expectation of US$8.21 and US$5.48 in the same period last year. By business, Goldman's global banking and markets business total revenue was US$8.48bn, up 33% YoY. Among them, stock trading revenue grew 32% YoY to a record US$3.45bn, topping the market's expectation of US$3.02bn; investment banking revenue grew 24% YoY to US$2.05bn, topping the market's expectation of US$2bn; FICC revenue grew 35% YoY to US$2.74bn, driven by gains from foreign exchange, mortgage, and credit products. Moreover, Goldman's asset and wealth management business total revenue was US$4.72bn, up 8% YoY. Goldman's Q4 credit loss provision was US$351mn, lower than US$577mn in the same period last year. Q4 return on equity jumped to 14.6%, topping the market's expectation. After becoming the best-performing major bank in the US in 2024 with a more than 52% gain, investors expect to find signs of this momentum continuing in the latest earnings. Goldman is preparing for the much-anticipated recovery of its stock trading business after giving up its main business of entering the consumer market. Goldman CEO David Solomon said, "We have achieved or exceeded almost all of the objectives in our corporate development strategy five years ago, which gives me great encouragement." Goldman's current stock price is nearly 1.7 times its book value, a remarkable change from falling below 1x a year ago. As of the time of writing, Goldman rose more than 2% before the US market opened on Wednesday.