The CEO of Goldman Sachs says WeWork's fiasco highlights just how important it is for a company to have a path to profitability

• In the wake of the WeWork fiasco, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon says companies need to put a greater emphasis on turning a profit.
• "It's important for people to grow, but there's got to be a clear and articulated path to profitability," Solomon said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Tuesday.
• Goldman said it lost $80 million on its stake in WeWork during the third quarter after the company failed to go public.
• For more WeWork news, click here.

Goldman Sachs watched its equity investments in Uber and WeWork eat away profits in the third quarter. Now, CEO David Solomon is saying companies need to focus more on making money.

"It's important for people to grow, but there's got to be a clear and articulated path to profitability," Solomon said on Bloomberg TV Tuesday. "I think there's a little bit more market discipline coming into play and I think that's healthy for markets."

In the aftermath of WeWork's failed initial public offering and money-losing companies such as Uber falling below their listing prices, it appears investors are pushing back against unprofitable business models.

Solomon commended the market for working efficiently in the case of WeWork.

"The capital markets process worked," Solomon said in reference to the office-leasing company. "At the end of the day where the rubber meets the road is what are investors willing to pay for a company when they have the transparency of the real financial information?"

Goldman told investors in mid-October on its earnings call that it lost about $80 million on its stake in WeWork during the third quarter.

The bank also lost more than $260 million on flailing stock investments made with its own money in companies such as Uber and Avantor.

Solomon also said that amid a wave of monetary policy easing over the years, investors are going further out on the risk spectrum toward growth companies to drive returns. That emphasis has caused some companies to pursue growth at all costs, he added.