The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) turned in a solid fourth quarter performance that had analysts reaching for their calculators to revise price targets upward, even as the stock itself took a modest breather.
The investment banking giant posted quarterly earnings of $14.01 per share on Thursday, sailing past the analyst consensus estimate of $11.65 per share. That's the kind of beat that gets attention. Revenue told a slightly different story, coming in at $13.454 billion against expectations of $13.791 billion—a miss, but not the kind that derails the narrative.
CEO David Solomon struck an optimistic tone in his commentary, pointing to the firm's progress since laying out its comprehensive strategy. "Since our first Investor Day where we laid out our comprehensive strategy, the firm has grown its revenues by 60%, improved returns by 500 basis points and delivered total shareholder returns of more than 340%," Solomon said. He added that client engagement remains robust across the franchise, with expectations for accelerating momentum in 2026 that could create "a flywheel of activity across our entire firm."
Despite the earnings beat, Goldman Sachs shares slipped 1% to trade at $966.49 on Friday—a reminder that markets don't always react the way you'd expect.
The analyst community responded with raised price targets. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Christopher McGratty maintained a Market Perform rating while bumping the price target from $971 to $1,000. Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo kept his Overweight rating and raised his target from $970 to $1,050, showing confidence in the firm's trajectory.
