Goldman Sachs traders made more than $100 million on 14 separate days amid the first quarter's fierce volatility

• Goldman Sachs' trading desk thrived through the first quarter, posting gains on 53 of its 62 trading days amid decade-high volatility.
• The firm's traders made more than $100 million across 14 different sessions over the three-month period, according to a regulatory filing. Only five such days took place in the first quarter of 2019.
• The desk thrives on wild price swings, and the mix of coronavirus risks and a global oil-price war drove stronger-than-usual gains and losses through the start of 2020.
• Watch Goldman Sachs stock trade live here.

Violent price swings marred the stock market and fueled investor fears through the first quarter. For Goldman Sachs' trading desk, business had rarely been better.

The bank's traders made more than $100 million across 14 different trading sessions through the three-month period, according to a Friday regulatory filing. Only five such days occurred in the first quarter of 2019. The desk thrives on heightened volatility, and the mix of coronavirus risks and oil-market chaos led Goldman's traders to post gains on 53 of the first quarter's 62 trading days.

Bloomberg first reported on the trading desk's windfall.

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Though Goldman's traders saw more highly profitable days in the first quarter of 2020, its losing days were more painful. While the desk never lost more than $25 million in the year-ago period, Goldman posted two days with losses between $75 million and $100 million, as well as two sessions losing between $50 million and $75 million.

Goldman wasn't the only firm to reap sizable profit through the market's tumultuous months. Other Wall Street giants saw their trading arms stand out from other segments as volatility fueled outsized gains. JPMorgan's desk saw revenue leap 32% through the start of the year to a record $7.2 billion. Bank of America traders posted 33% revenue growth to $1.48 billion.

Most bank stocks still fell following their first-quarter report's release as saving for loan losses outweighed profit growth. Goldman shares dipped as much as 5% on April 15 after the bank reported that profits slid 46% through the period.

Goldman Sachs traded at $178.84 per share as of 11:15 a.m. ET Friday, down 22% year-to-date.

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