Executive Summary & TL;DR
Headline Performance & Stance
- Revenue: $18,679 million (+23.0% YoY, -8.2% QoQ) vs. $16,850 million consensus (Beat)
- GAAP EPS: $17.01 (+38.9% YoY, -18.9% QoQ) vs. $12.88 consensus (Beat)
- Guidance Direction: Not Issued (Structural: Goldman Sachs does not provide formal quarterly revenue or EPS guidance; $5.00/share Q4 dividend declared, reiterated vs. 2Q26)
- Stance: Constructive — Core franchise strength in Equities (+72% YoY) and Asset & Wealth Management (+14% YoY) generated an 18.7% annualized ROE, driving book value per share up to $372.64 despite sequential revenue moderation from 2Q26's historic highs.
Key Takeaways
- Capital Markets Dominance: Global Banking & Markets delivered $13,458 million in net revenues (+32% YoY), powered by a 72% YoY surge in Equities net revenues ($6,441M) across financing and intermediation.
- Wealth Management Expansion: Asset & Wealth Management revenues rose 14% YoY to $5,051M on higher management fees ($3,587M) and incentive fees ($587M), maintaining total AUS above $4.04 trillion.
- Efficiency & ROE Expansion: Annualized ROE expanded to 18.7% (vs. 12.8% in 3Q25), while the Efficiency Ratio improved 160 bps YoY to 60.5%.
- Platform Solutions Drag Continues: Segment revenue fell 72% YoY to $170M due to ongoing markdowns on the Apple Card loan portfolio (transferred to held for sale in 4Q25).
- Capital Distribution: Repurchased $3.00 billion of common stock (2.9M shares at $1,048.73/share) and paid $1.49 billion in dividends during 3Q26.
Key Watch Items
- Investment Banking backlog contracted QoQ and vs. year-end 2025.
- Credit loss provisions increased to $368M (vs. $102M in 2Q26), driven by wholesale credit provisions.
- Pace and residual markdowns associated with exiting Platform Solutions partnerships.