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Goldman Sachs enjoyed a robust final quarter of 2024, boosted by its Global Banking and Market unit.
Net earnings for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to $4.11 billion from $2.01 billion in the same period in 2023. Earnings per share were $11.95, beating analysts' forecasts of $8.35 according to S&P.
Net revenues totaled $13.87 billion, up 23% from a year ago.
Goldman attributed the quarter's growth to higher net revenues from all its businesses, but particularly from its Global Banking and Markets unit. In the fourth quarter, that department generated $8.48 billion in net revenues, a 33% rise from the same quarter in 2023.
Investment banking fees rose 24% to $2.05 billion, reflecting gains in equity and debt underwriting. The gains were driven by secondary and initial public offerings and private placements as well as leveraged finance activity, Goldman said.
Provisions for credit losses fell to $351 million from $577 million a year ago, with net charge-offs in the credit card portfolio accounting for the provisions.
In a press release unveiling the results, CEO David Solomon extolled Goldman's performance.
"We are very pleased with our strong results for the quarter and the year," Solomon said in the statement. "With an improving operating backdrop and growing CEO confidence, we are harnessing the power of One Goldman Sachs to continue to serve our clients with excellence and create further value for our shareholders."
The results cap what has in some ways been a difficult year for Goldman Sachs. The firm spent much of the last three months unwinding its botched foray into consumer banking, which had included new lending platforms and a set of credit cards.
In October 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Goldman over multiple violations related to the Apple Card, which the firm and Apple had launched together in 2019. The CFPB ordered the firm to pay at least $19.8 million to affected Apple Card users, along with a $45 million civil money penalty.
That same month, Goldman reached a deal to sell its General Motors credit card to Barclays, only two years after the firm launched the card with GM. The card proved to be an expensive misstep for Goldman — at the end of 2024's third quarter, the firm reported a $415 million charge in connection to the GM credit card portfolio.
Earlier in the year, Goldman was shaking off other vestiges of its consumer banking experiment. In March, the firm finalized its sale of GreenSky, a fintech platform that facilitates loans for home improvement projects. Goldman had bought the platform at the start of 2022. That year, GreenSky and the new credit card programs cost the firm a combined $1.7 billion.
More recently, Goldman has appeared to pivot back to what it does best: serving corporate and high net worth clients. Earlier this week, it announced the creation of the Capital Solutions Group, a new department that will focus on private credit, private equity and financing.
