Goldman Sachs Profit Drops by 33%
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. experienced its second consecutive quarter of real estate writedowns and a continued dealmaking slump, reducing its profitability to approximately half of its targeted level.
As reported by AdvisorHub, property investments resulted in a loss of $212 million in the equity book last quarter, and an additional $358 million in impairments contributed to a 33 percent drop in profit. While trading revenue exceeded analysts' estimates and helped mitigate the impact, the company's shares declined by approximately 2.1 percent.
Goldman has suffered its eighth consecutive quarterly profit decline, and the firm's return-on-equity stands at 7.1 percent, significantly below the mid-teens target it has set for itself. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon is working to rejuvenate the bank's stock after scaling back its consumer banking expansion and refocusing efforts on its core business lines. Solomon expressed his optimism, anticipating "a continued recovery in both capital markets and strategic activity if conditions remain conducive." He also claimed that a resurgence in activity would benefit Goldman Sachs as the leader in M&A advisory and equity underwriting.
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