Goldman Sachs shares hit record $961.86 as strong trading and earnings fuel rally: Report

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock touched a new all-time high of $961.86 on Thursday, marking a major milestone for the Wall Street giant and underscoring the strength of its recent turnaround. The rally has lifted the firm’s market capitalisation beyond $300 billion, with shares up more than 57% over the past year. According to Investing.com, the stock is trading close to its 52-week high, supported by a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the bank’s earnings trajectory and strategic direction.

The surge follows a series of strong financial results, highlighted by a record-breaking performance in equities trading. In the final quarter of last year, Goldman posted $4.31 billion in equities-trading revenue, the highest ever recorded on Wall Street. The figure surpassed Goldman’s own previous record set in the second quarter of 2025 and exceeded analyst expectations by nearly $700 million, based on Bloomberg estimates. The outperformance points to a finely tuned trading operation that has benefited from market volatility and improved execution.

Under Chief Executive David Solomon, Goldman has sharpened its focus after a turbulent period marked by an unsuccessful push into consumer banking. The firm has since reasserted its traditional strengths in investment banking and trading, while expanding its footprint in wealth management and private equity. These businesses are being positioned as stabilising income engines to offset the inherent volatility of trading revenues.

The bank’s asset- and wealth-management division, led by Marc Nachmann, has become a key growth driver. The unit recently posted a quarterly record for fees and has been bolstered by acquisitions, including ETF issuer Innovator Capital and venture capital firm Industry Ventures. Goldman has now raised its medium-term targets for the division, aiming for a 30% pretax margin and returns in the high teens.

For full-year 2025, Goldman reported net revenue of $58.3 billion, its second-best performance on record. Excluding the one-off impact of selling its Apple Card portfolio to JPMorgan Chase, the year would have been a record. The firm also announced a dividend hike to $4.50 per share, reinforcing its commitment to shareholder returns.

Meanwhile, compensation expenses rose 13% in 2025, broadly in line with revenue growth, reflecting strong business momentum. Investment-banking fees reached $2.58 billion in the fourth quarter alone — a record for the firm — after Goldman topped Bloomberg’s merger-advisory rankings for the year.

Despite the strong fundamentals, Goldman’s shares dipped 2.3% in early New York trading following the results, suggesting some near-term profit-taking. Still, the broader trend remains firmly upward, with investors increasingly viewing Goldman as one of the most resilient and strategically focused institutions on Wall Street.