Goldman Sachs 3rd-quarter earnings trounce expectations as trading desks thrive during the pandemic

• Goldman Sachs on Wednesday announced third-quarter earnings that thrashed analysts' expectations for revenue and profit.
• The bank's focus on trading helped earnings more than double from the third quarter of 2019.
• "As our clients begin to emerge from the tough economy brought on by the pandemic, we are well positioned to help them recover and grow, particularly given market share gains we've achieved this year," CEO David Solomon said in a statement.
• Goldman shares rose as much as 3% in early-Wednesday trading.
• Watch Goldman Sachs trade live here.

Goldman Sachs announced third-quarter earnings on Wednesday that trounced Wall Street's estimates and showed continued strength through the coronavirus pandemic.

A $278 million buildup in loan-loss reserves over the period was offset by trading desks' outperformance and marked a sharp decline from the prior quarter's $1.6 billion sum. Profit more than doubled from the year-ago period and handily beat expectations. Revenue also came in above analysts' estimates.

Goldman shares gained as much as 3% in early-Wednesday trading.

Here are the key numbers:

• Revenue: $10.78 billion, versus the $9.4 billion estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg
• Earnings per share: $9.68, versus the $5.53 estimate
• Net income: $3.62 million, versus the $1.97 billion estimate

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"As our clients begin to emerge from the tough economy brought on by the pandemic, we are well positioned to help them recover and grow, particularly given market share gains we've achieved this year," CEO David Solomon said in a statement.

Goldman sources more of its revenue from deal-advising and trading arms than other major Wall Street banks. Accordingly, the focus on trading aided the bank through the quarter as stocks endured volatility. Equities revenue hit $2.1 billion, up 10% from the third quarter of 2019, representing its second-highest quarterly revenue for equity underwriting.

Fixed-income sales and trading raked in $2.5 billion, up 49% from the year-ago period, as the Federal Reserve maintained its credit-market backstop. Investment-banking revenue reached $2 billion, up 7% from the year-ago period.

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Goldman had a similarly rosy second-quarter report in July. The bank beat estimates for revenue and earnings, with revenue reaching its second-highest quarterly reading ever. The report also revealed Goldman's outperformance in the financial sector as the bank largely avoided the consumer-banking slowdown seen at other firms.

Wednesday marks the second day of bank earnings, after JPMorgan and Citigroup reported results Tuesday. Both banks beat revenue and profit estimates, with the former boasting a 32% leap in trading revenue. Both firms also shrank their credit-reserve builds from the previous quarter.

Bank of America earlier Wednesday reported third-quarter figures that missed analysts' expectations for revenue. Morgan Stanley is set to release its earnings report on Thursday morning.

Goldman closed at $210.81 per share on Tuesday, down 8% year-t0-date.

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