Goldman Sachs' profits jump 60% helped by deal-making frenzy

Goldman Sachs' profits jumped 60 per cent in the third quarter, as the deal-making bonanza that dominated financial markets this summer brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in fee revenue for the investment bank.

The New York-based firm said Friday that it earned a profit of $5.28 billion, or $14.93 per share, compared with a profit of $3.23 billion, or $8.98 a share, in the same period a year earlier.

The results were significantly better than the $10.10-per-share profit that analysts had been expecting, according to FactSet.

Much of the jump in profit came from Goldman's advisory and investment banking business, where the firm helps companies go public or buy other companies.

The firm brought in $3.7 billion in investment banking revenue last quarter, up 88 per cent from a year earlier.

The economic recovery after the pandemic has pushed many companies to seek new ways to grow, which has gone straight to Goldman's bottom line.

Just in the US, there have been 94 initial public offerings that have raised $28 billion, the highest number of IPOs for a third quarter since 2000, according to Renaissance Capital.

Goldman's results echoed the strong results posted by its rival Morgan Stanley, which also reported a big jump in profits due to its advisory business. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase also reported profit gains due to their investment banking businesses.

Goldman also had a strong quarter in trading, although the gains weren't as impressive as in the advisory business.

The firm's trading desks brought in $5.61 billion in the quarter, up 23 per cent from a year earlier.

While trading of bonds, commodities and currencies was relatively stable, Goldman said it saw its stock trading revenues rise 51 per cent from a year earlier.

Total revenues across the company were $13.61 billion, much better than the $11.72 billion that analysts had expected.

Shares of Goldman Sachs rose 1.9 per cent in morning trading.