REUTERS/Natalie Behring
Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and COO Gary Cohn.
The bank reported earnings per share of $2.90 (adj. $2.64) on revenue of $6.86 billion.
Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings per share of $3.00 on revenue of $7.12 billion, according to Bloomberg.
"We experienced lower levels of activity and declining asset prices during the quarter, reflecting renewed concerns about global economic growth," said CEO Lloyd Blankfein. "We continue to see strong levels of activity in Investment Banking and growth in Investment Management, and looking ahead, are encouraged by the competitive positioning of our global client franchise."
The stock was down 2% in early trading.
Investment banking revenue came in at $1.56 billion, right in line with expectations, and down about 7% year on year.
Fixed income, currency, and commodities trading revenue came in at $1.46, or 33% lower than the third quarter of 2014.
Equities revenues were $1.75 billion, up 9% year on year.
In the same quarter last year, Goldman crushed expectations with earnings of $4.57 per share ($3.21 expected) on revenue of $8.39 billion.
The second quarter was a good one for Goldman, but only if you ignored legal costs - the bank reported earnings per share of $1.98 ($3.97 expected), but ex-legal fees it was $4.75.
In September, Blankfein announced he had a highly curable form of lymphoma. President and COO Gary Cohn has been taking the lead in terms of public appearances and speaking engagements in the meantime.
JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo reported Q3 earnings earlier this week.
Citi will report next, around 8 a.m. Thursday.