Goldman profit smashes forecasts on booming investment banking

Goldman profit smashes forecasts on booming investment banking

A view of the headquarters of the Goldman Sachs in New York City on Wednesday. Agence France-Presse Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Wednesday easily beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profit, as the US investment bank capitalized on record levels of global dealmaking activity and a coronavirus-driven boom in stock market trading. Overall investment banking revenue rose 73% to $3. 77 billion, its highest since 2010, while equities trading surged 68% as a jump in trading by ordinary investors fed stock market volatility. Global investment banking fee hit an all-time record of $39. 4 billion during the March quarter, according to Refinitiv data. Goldman also comfortably held on to its top ranking on the league tables for worldwide M&A advisory. The league tables by Refinitiv rank financial services firms on the amount of M&A fees they generate. An unprecedented boom in private firms merging with listed shell companies to go public has helped the Wall Street giant earn handsome fees from such deals. The massive 47% jump in trading revenue was in line with the broader gains for trading desks across Wall Street and was a result of the volatility generated by a surge in retail trading of "meme stocks"