Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) Hit by Weak Economy
Goldman Sachs reported lower third-quarter earnings Thursday due to weakness in some trading divisions and the hit to the company’s equity holdings from the stock market pullback.
Earnings for the quarter ending September 30 were 1.4 billion, down 36.4 percent from the year-ago period. Revenues were down 18.2 percent at 6.86 billion.
“We experienced lower levels of activity and declining asset prices during the quarter, reflecting renewed concerns about global economic growth,” said Goldman Sachs chief executive LLoyd Blankfein.
Net revenues in Goldman’s fixed income, currency and commodity trading division plunged 33 percent from the year-ago level, falling victim to the same trend of reduced activity due to intense market volatility.
Goldman cited the big decrease in global equity valuations as a factor in lower revenues from its investing and lending segments. The third quarter was the worst for the US stock market in four years.
These weaker areas were offset somewhat by gains in equity trading and a big jump in financial advisory revenues, as merger and acquisition activity remained solid.
Goldman also notched higher non-compensation expenses, due in part to higher provisions for litigation.
Earnings translated into 2.90 per share, a penny below analyst expectations.
Shares of Goldman dipped 0.9 percent to 177.89 in pre-market trade.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Goldman Sachs), incorporated on July 21, 1998, is a bank holding company and a financial holding company. The Company is a global investment banking, securities and investment management company that provides a range of financial services to a diversified client base that include corporations, financial institutions, Governments and high-net-worth individuals. The Company has four business segments: Investment Banking, Institutional Client Services, Investing & Lending and Investment Management. The Company’s United States depository institution subsidiary, Goldman Sachs Bank USA (GS Bank USA), is a New York State chartered bank. As of December 2014, the Company had offices in over 30 countries.
Investment Banking
The Company’s Investment Banking segment serves public and private sector clients around the world. It provides financial advisory services to enable companies to raise capital. The Company’s financial advisory services include advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, spin-offs and risk management. It provides multiple services, including acquisition financing and cross-border structuring expertise. The Company also manages asset and liability exposures and the capital of its clients. It provides lending commitments, and bank loan and bridge loan facilities.
The Company’s underwriting activities include public offerings and private placements, including local and cross-border transactions, of a range of securities and other financial instruments. The Company underwrites common and preferred stock, and convertible and exchangeable securities. It underwrites and originates various types of debt instruments, including debt, bank loans and bridge loans, and emerging- and growth-market debt. It also underwrites and originates structured securities, which include mortgage-related securities and other asset-backed securities.
Institutional Client Services
The Company’s Institutional Client Services segment makes markets and facilitates client transactions in fixed income, equity, currency and commodity products. The Company’s clients are institutions that are professional market participants, including individual investors. It provides prices to clients for a range of products in a range of asset classes and markets. Institutional Client Services and its other businesses are supported by the Company’s Global Investment Research division, which, as of December 2014, provided fundamental research on more than 3,600 companies worldwide and more than 40 national economies, as well as on industries, currencies and commodities.
The Company’s fixed income, currency and commodities client execution include interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies and commodities. The Company’s interest rate products include Government bonds; money market instruments, such as commercial paper, treasury bills, repurchase agreements and other liquid securities and instruments, and interest rate swaps, options and other derivatives. The Company’s credit products include securities, credit derivatives, bank and bridge loans, municipal securities, emerging market and distressed debt and trade claims. Its mortgages include mortgage-related securities, loans and derivatives, residential mortgage-related securities, loans and derivatives (including the United States Government agency-issued collateralized mortgage obligations, other prime, subprime and Alt-A securities and loans), and other asset-backed securities, loans and derivatives. Its currencies comprises most currencies, including growth-market currencies. Its commodities include crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas, base, precious and other metals, electricity, coal, agricultural and other commodity products. Its equities include equities client execution, commissions and fees and securities services.
The Company makes markets in equity securities and equity-related products, including convertible securities, options, futures and over-the-counter (OTC) derivative instruments. It also serves markets in derivatives on indices, industry groups, financial measures and individual company stocks. It provides information about portfolio hedging and restructuring and asset allocation transactions for its clients. It also works with its clients to create instruments to enable investors to establish or liquidate investment positions or undertake hedging strategies. It also involves in the trading and development of equity derivative instruments. Its exchange-based market-making activities include making markets in stocks and exchange-traded funds, futures and options on exchanges around the world. The Company also provides its clients with access to a range of equity execution services, including electronic low-touch access and high-touch execution. Its Securities Services include financing, securities lending and other brokerage services. It provides financing to its clients for securities trading activities through margin loans. It provides services that involve borrowing and lending securities to cover institutional clients’ short sales and borrowing securities.
Investing & Lending
The Company’s investing and lending activities, which are typically longer-term, include the company’s investing and relationship lending activities across various asset classes, primarily debt securities and loans, public and private equity securities, and real estate. Its activities also include investing in publicly and privately traded securities and in loans, and also through investment funds that it manages. It manages a range of investments in equity securities and debt and other investments in private transactions, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions and investments in funds managed by external parties. It also provides financing to its clients. It makes corporate, real estate and infrastructure equity-related investments.
The Company’s debt securities and loans include corporate, real estate, infrastructure and other debt investments. It also provides credit to corporate clients through loan facilities and to individuals through secured loans. Its other investments include consolidated investments, which are engaged in activities that are not related to its principal businesses.
Investment Management
The Company’s investment management segment provides investment and wealth advisory services. Its clients include institutions and high-net-worth individuals, as well as retail investors who access its products through a network of third-party distributors around the world. It manages client assets across a range of asset classes and investment strategies, including equity, fixed income and alternative investments. Its alternative investments include hedge funds, credit funds, private equity, real estate, currencies, commodities and asset allocation strategies. It offers its investments in a range of structures, including separately managed accounts, mutual funds, private partnerships and other vehicles. The Company also provides investment advisory solutions designed to address its clients’ investment needs. Its wealth advisory services include income and liability management, trust and estate planning, philanthropic giving and tax planning.
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