- Goldman Sachs Q4 2025 profit rose 12% to $4.62B ($14.01/share) as revenue slipped 3% to $13.45B, partly due to the Apple Card exit.
- Investment-banking fees jumped 25% on stronger advisory and debt underwriting, alongside solid gains in equities and FICC financing.
- Full-year 2025 results strengthened across global banking & markets and wealth/asset management, lifting ROE to about 15%.
- The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $4.50/share and pointed to a healthier dealmaking and capital-markets pipeline into 2026.
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Goldman Sachs’ Q4 2025 performance reveals a robust rebound in core investment banking and capital markets activities, despite a modest topline drag from non-core and one-time items. Key across-the-board gains appear in advisory, underwriting, equities financing and FICC (fixed income, currency, commodities) financing, highlighting strength not just in deal structuring but also in lending to institutional clients (e.g. hedge funds, private equity) and the financing infrastructure of markets.
The firm’s full-year data accentuates that these are not isolated trends: global banking & markets net revenues (GB&M) in 2025 rose strongly, with equities revenues increasing 23% year-over-year, and FICC up 9–12%, particularly intermediation and interest rate and commodities products. Wealth and asset management saw steady flows, delivering high-teens ROE targets. Adjustments from the Apple Card divestiture (credit card portfolio markdowns, reserve releases) materially impacted Platform Solutions revenue and credit loss provisions.
Strategically, Goldman’s renewed dominance in M&A advisory (top global advisor for 23rd straight year), record equity trading revenues, and elevated investment banking backlog suggest strong forward momentum. The dividend increase signals confidence in earnings sustainability. However, macro-risks remain: interest rate normalization, geopolitical volatility, regulatory danger zones (e.g., consumer banking exit fallout), and potential deceleration in dealmaking or capital markets issuance if economic headwinds intensify.
Open questions include how persistent the lending demand will be (especially for infrastructure, AI, private equity), how Goldman manages exposure in its residual consumer banking unit (Platform Solutions), and how much of 2026 growth projections already reflect optimistic assumptions about rate cuts or regulatory shifts.
Supporting Notes
- Net income for Q4 2025 was $4.62 billion, or $14.01/share, up 12% YoY, with revenues of $13.45 billion, down ~3%, partially due to the Apple Card program transfer.
- Investment banking fees rose 25% in Q4 2025 (vs Q4 2024), premiums coming from advisory and debt underwriting.
- Equities revenue in markets rose roughly 25% YoY to ~$4.31B; FICC revenue improved ~12% in the same period.
- Full-year 2025 net revenues were $58.28B and net earnings $17.18B. Diluted EPS for 2025 was $51.32; ROE was about 15.0%, with Q4 annualized ROE ~16.0%.
- Dividend per share increased by $0.50 to $4.50. Wealth management targets shifted from mid-teens ROE to high-teens.
- Platform Solutions revenue declined in Q4 (due to credit card portfolio markdowns and the Apple Card exit), but there was a net release in credit loss reserves benefitting Q4. Q4 2025 provisions for credit losses were a net benefit of $2.12B vs a $351M charge in Q4 2024.