Greed triumphs over fear! Goldman Sachs (GS.US) stock trading business reached a record high of 7.42 billion US dollars, and super orders such as SpaceX boosted revenue by far exceeding expectations

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Goldman Sachs Group (GS.US) drastically set its Wall Street stock trading record and recorded revenue of 7.42 billion US dollars in the second quarter. Stock indices rose sharply during the quarter, and market fluctuations surrounding artificial intelligence and the war in the Middle East continued. According to financial reports, Goldman Sachs Q2 revenue was US$20.34 billion, up 39.5% year over year, exceeding expectations of US$3.94 billion; earnings per share were US$20.98, up 92% year over year, exceeding expectations of US$6.44.

The bank's second-quarter results marked the third consecutive quarter for its stock business unit to set a record in banking history. The revenue for the past three months alone is more than the sum of the four quarters of the full year of 2019.

Goldman Sachs said in a statement on Tuesday that stock trading results increased 72% year over year, driven by profits from financing business and arranging transactions. Interest rate traders who did not perform well in the previous quarter also surpassed expectations, and the investment banking department's expenses and revenue from mergers and acquisitions consulting and underwriting reached a new high since 2021.

Goldman Sachs reported interest rate transaction revenue of US$4.59 billion. Investment banking operating expenses totaled US$3.4 billion, better than overall analysts' consensus expectations.

Credit loss reserves fell from US$384 million in the same period last year to US$102 million, down from US$315 million in the previous quarter to US$102 million. The average estimate from analysts was $182.5 million.

This record-breaking stock trading performance comes at a time when investors are betting on artificial intelligence growth driven by Asian tech companies, and the S&P 500 index recorded its best return in six years. As with other large banks, strong trading activity, high market volatility, and a strong capital market have also driven profit growth.

This was a bursting quarter for Goldman Sachs, but rival J.P. Morgan Chase's stock traders saw an even more impressive increase — its trading revenue was previously announced to have increased 86% to $6.03 billion.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in June that there is “more greed than fear” in the market, and investors are flocking to issue IPOs.

Goldman Sachs investment bankers dominated SpaceX's record IPO and Alphabet Inc.'s second-quarter equity financing, leading the industry by far in various rankings. Revenue from its stock underwriting business jumped 130% year over year.

According to the data, Goldman Sachs holds more than one-third of the M&A market share. So far this year, it has provided advisory services for transactions worth 1 trillion US dollars, and the speed of completion is the fastest in the bank's history.

Goldman Sachs's asset management business is also growing rapidly. The amount of assets under escrow announced in the second quarter reached US$4.04 billion, an increase of more than US$700 million over the same period last year. Net revenue from the Asset and Wealth Management division increased 20% from the second quarter of 2025 and 13% from the first quarter of 2026 to $4.6 billion.

The results include the bank's record net revenue of US$20.3 billion. Although expenses have increased, the increase in employee compensation has been slower than the growth rate of revenue — revenue increased 39% year over year, while compensation expenses only increased 30%.

At the same time, the bank's management is controlling costs by automating processes and reducing back-office inefficiencies. Bank President John Waldron, Solomon's likely successor, has said that the focus is on achieving large-scale expansion of the business without hiring a large number of additional personnel.