Goldman Earnings Hit Record

Firm soars on trading, M&A, shorting subprime as others falter
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2007 9:25 AM CST
Goldman Earnings Hit Record
The building on Broad Street in New York's Financial District that houses brokerage firm Goldman Sachs is shown in this June 12, 2007 file photo. The nation's big investment banks and brokerages are on the front lines of the credit crisis. That's why Wall Street is paying close attention to their quarterly...   (Associated Press)

Still sitting pretty above the subprime fray, Goldman Sachs trumped estimates today and reported a 2% jump in profits in the fourth quarter, breaking the annual profit record for the fourth straight year. Goldman shorted subprime mortgages, profiting from the disaster that sank competitors, and in the quarter actually boosted its revenue from mortgage securities, Bloomberg reports.

"Goldman took that weakness and turned it to its own advantage,'' one analyst said. Revenue rose 14% to $10.7 billion, and return on investment was a lofty 34.6%. Much of that came from buying and selling companies, a profitable departure from Goldman’s usual adviser role. The results “hardly seem ‘one time’ in nature,” an analyst predicted. And Goldman’s equity trading really beat the market, with revenues climbing 22%. (More Goldman Sachs stories.)

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