Goldman’s Earnings Surge

Well, someone is making money on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs (GS) just reported that its first-quarter profit rose 62% to $2.45 billion, or $5.08 a share. That demolished Wall Street’s estimate of $3.29 a share.
You don’t often see a brokerage firm top its estimates by over 50%, but Goldman has been shooting the lights out lately. Revenues from asset management soared 89%. Whoa. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from 35 cents to 40 cents a share. The stock is up about 50% since June.
We’ll get another snapshot of the profits on Wall Street tomorrow when Lehman Brothers (LEH) reports. The company has regularly beaten estimates for the last several quarters. Interestingly, Lehman’s and Goldman’s stocks have tracked each other remarkably closely for the past several months. In fact, as I write this, both stocks are worth $146 a share.
Bear Stearns (BSC) reports on Thursday and Morgan Stanley (MS) follows next Wednesday.
Graef Crystal has more on executive pay of the Wall Street cheifs.

Posted by on March 14th, 2006 at 10:09 am


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