What is Goldman Sachs?
The world's premier investment bank and global financial institution
- Category
- Investment Banking & Financial Services
- Headquarters
- 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282
- Founded
- 1869
- Employees
- 47,400 (FY2025)
- Status
- Public — NYSE: GS
- Market Cap
- ~$320 billion (June 2026)
What is Goldman Sachs?
Goldman Sachs is one of the world's leading global investment banking, securities, and investment management firms, serving corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm reported net revenues of $58.3 billion and net earnings of $17.2 billion for full-year 2025, operating across two core segments: Global Banking & Markets and Asset & Wealth Management.
Goldman Sachs was founded by Marcus Goldman in a one-room basement office in Lower Manhattan in 1869 and has grown over 157 years into one of the most recognized financial institutions in the world. With 47,400 employees in nearly 90 offices across more than 60 cities, Goldman Sachs operates at the intersection of global capital markets, institutional investing, and high-net-worth wealth management. The firm holds a market capitalization of approximately $320 billion as of June 2026, making it one of the most valuable financial services companies in the world.
Global Banking & Markets — the firm's largest segment — generated $41.5 billion in net revenues in 2025. This division encompasses investment banking advisory ($4.7 billion), equity and debt underwriting ($4.6 billion combined), FICC intermediation and financing ($14.5 billion), and a record equities franchise ($16.5 billion). Goldman Sachs advises on the world's most complex M&A transactions, underwrites landmark capital market deals, and operates one of the most profitable institutional trading desks on Wall Street. In Q1 2026, the Global Banking & Markets segment hit a record quarterly revenue of $12.7 billion, including record equities revenues of $5.33 billion — the highest single quarter in Goldman's history.
Asset & Wealth Management oversees a record $3.7 trillion in assets under supervision (AUS) as of Q1 2026 — boosted by the April 2026 completion of the $2 billion acquisition of Innovator Capital Management, adding $31 billion in ETF assets and positioning Goldman as a top-10 global active ETF provider. The AWM segment generated $5.0 billion in management fees in FY2025 (+9% year-over-year), $489 million in incentive fees (+24% year-over-year), and has recorded 33 consecutive quarters of long-term fee-based net inflows through Q1 2026, demonstrating the durability of its institutional and UHNW client franchise.
What does Goldman Sachs offer?
Goldman Sachs operates across investment banking, global markets trading, asset management, private wealth, and institutional digital platforms.
- M&A Advisory· Investment Banking
- Equity Underwriting· Investment Banking
- Debt Underwriting· Investment Banking
- Leveraged Finance· Investment Banking
- FICC Trading· Global Markets
- Equities Trading· Global Markets
- Prime Brokerage· Global Markets
- Derivatives· Global Markets
- Structured Finance· Global Markets
- Asset Management· Asset & Wealth Management
- Defined-Outcome ETFs (Innovator)· Asset & Wealth Management
- Private Equity & Alternatives· Asset & Wealth Management
- Private Wealth Management· Asset & Wealth Management
- Private Banking & Lending· Asset & Wealth Management
- Marquee Digital Platform· Technology & Data
- Legend / PURE Open Source (FINOS)· Technology & Data
- GS Financial Cloud (AWS)· Technology & Data
- Transaction Banking· Platform Solutions
- Corporate Cash Management· Platform Solutions
How does Goldman Sachs make money?
Goldman Sachs generates revenue through transaction fees (investment banking advisory and underwriting), net interest income and trading spreads (Global Banking & Markets), and recurring management and incentive fees (Asset & Wealth Management). In FY2025, the firm earned $58.3 billion in total net revenues with a 15.0% return on common equity and diluted EPS of $51.32.
The investment banking fee pool is transaction-driven. Advisory fees for M&A mandates typically average 0.3%–0.7% of deal size, while equity underwriting fees run 3%–7% of issuance value and debt underwriting fees run 0.5%–2.0% of face value. In 2025, Goldman generated $4.73 billion in advisory fees and $4.61 billion in underwriting revenues, benefiting from a 21% year-over-year rise in M&A deal completions. The firm's Global Banking & Markets segment produced $41.5 billion in combined net revenues — the firm's most profitable division by a wide margin.
Global markets revenue is driven by bid-ask spreads, financing margins on prime brokerage and repo, and risk positioning. FICC intermediation and financing generated $14.5 billion in 2025, while equities — including a surging prime brokerage lending business — produced a record $16.5 billion. Equities financing revenues alone reached approximately $7.2 billion in 2025 as hedge fund leverage increased globally. The firm's trading desks benefit from Goldman's dominant market-making position and its proprietary risk analytics.
Asset & Wealth Management generates recurring management fees (typically 25–100 basis points on liquid AUS; 1.0%–2.0% on alternatives) and performance/incentive fees (often 10%–20% carry above an 8% hurdle in private funds). Full-year 2025 management fees reached $5.0 billion (+9% year-over-year); incentive fees hit $489 million (+24% year-over-year). Private wealth advisory accounts are priced at approximately 1.65%–1.90% annually for balances up to $10 million, stepping down at higher tiers. The firm has fully exited consumer banking — absorbing more than $7 billion in cumulative pre-tax losses on Marcus, Apple Card, and GreenSky between 2020 and 2025 — to concentrate capital entirely on its institutional and UHNW core, a pivot the market has rewarded with a sharply higher valuation multiple.
Who leads Goldman Sachs?
Goldman Sachs is led by Chairman and CEO David Solomon, with President & COO John Waldron widely regarded as his heir apparent, and CFO Denis Coleman overseeing the firm's finances. Following May 2026 additions, the Management Committee stands at 47 members.
- David SolomonChairman & Chief Executive OfficerCEO since Oct 2018; Chairman since Jan 2019Former co-head of Investment Banking. Awarded an $80M retention stock grant in January 2025 (vesting in 2030) to extend his tenure five additional years. Paid $47M in total compensation for 2025, a 20% raise over 2024.
- John E. WaldronPresident & Chief Operating OfficerPresident & COO since Oct 2018; Board Director since Feb 2025Solomon's widely recognized heir apparent; received an $80M retention award in January 2025 vesting in 2030. His 2025 total compensation exceeded Jamie Dimon's. Board member since February 2025.
- Denis ColemanChief Financial OfficerCFO since Feb 2020Oversees firmwide financial reporting, capital allocation, and investor relations. Previously global treasurer. Reported $25M in total 2025 compensation per the 2026 proxy.
- Marc NachmannGlobal Head of Asset & Wealth ManagementAppointed to lead AWM in Oct 2022Oversees the firm's $3.7T AUS franchise, including the April 2026 Innovator ETF acquisition. Previously co-head of Global Banking & Markets.
- Ericka LeslieChief Administrative OfficerAppointed CAO May 2026Joined Management Committee as CAO in the May 2026 restructuring, responsible for advancing OneGS 3.0, Goldman's internal operating-system overhaul designed to free capacity for growth investment.
- Stephan FeldgoiseGlobal Head of Mergers & AcquisitionsAdded to Management Committee May 2026Leads the M&A advisory franchise that generated $4.73B in fees in FY2025 and is positioned to benefit from a recovering deal environment in 2026.
How do you contact Goldman Sachs's leadership?
Goldman Sachs employees use the verified email pattern firstname.lastname@gs.com, confirmed by LeadIQ and RocketReach as used by approximately 98% of the firm's employees. Publicly disclosed direct executive emails are not published by the firm; the addresses below are constructed per the verified pattern and should not be treated as personally confirmed.
firstname.lastname@gs.comHow much funding has Goldman Sachs raised?
Goldman Sachs is publicly traded (NYSE: GS) and raised $3.66 billion in its May 1999 IPO — then the second-largest financial services IPO in U.S. history. The firm has grown entirely through retained earnings since, aside from two temporary crisis-era capital injections in 2008. As of June 2026, its market cap stands at approximately $320 billion and book equity at approximately $125 billion.
Goldman Sachs operated as a private partnership for 130 years before going public on May 4, 1999. The IPO priced 69 million shares at $53 each, raising approximately $3.66 billion. Shares opened at $76 on day one before closing at $70.375 — still 33% above the offer price — valuing the firm at roughly $33 billion at close. It was the last major Wall Street investment bank to go public, and the second-largest financial services IPO in U.S. history at the time.
During the 2008 financial crisis, Goldman converted to a bank holding company and received $10 billion in TARP preferred equity from the U.S. Treasury while simultaneously raising $5 billion in preferred equity from Berkshire Hathaway at a 10% coupon. The Berkshire investment — announced September 23, 2008, at the peak of market panic — served as both a capital lifeline and a public confidence signal. Goldman repaid all TARP in June 2009, generating $1.41 billion in profit for the government, and redeemed Berkshire's preferred stock in full in 2011.
All other capital growth has been entirely organic. As of December 31, 2025, total shareholders' equity stood at approximately $125 billion, reflecting 25+ years of accumulated retained earnings. In FY2025, Goldman returned $16.78 billion to shareholders — $12.36 billion via common share repurchases and $4.42 billion via cash dividends. Following Q1 2026's record results, the board authorized a new $40 billion share buyback program. The stock has appreciated from $53 at IPO to above $1,090 in June 2026 — a 20x+ return before dividends.
How did Goldman Sachs get here?
Goldman Sachs has evolved over 157 years from a commercial paper broker to the world's preeminent investment bank, navigating the Great Depression, multiple financial crises, a landmark IPO, and a decisive strategic exit from consumer banking.
- 1869Founded by Marcus Goldman in Lower ManhattanMarcus Goldman opens a one-room basement office, purchasing promissory notes from merchants and reselling them to commercial banks — the firm's original intermediation model.
- 1882–1896Samuel Sachs joins; firm joins NYSE (1896)Goldman's son-in-law Samuel Sachs joins in 1882, formalizing the Goldman Sachs & Co. partnership. In 1896 the firm joins the New York Stock Exchange; a decade later, in 1906, it manages the IPO of Sears, Roebuck & Co., establishing its capital-markets franchise.
- 1986Goldman Sachs Asset Management foundedThe firm formally establishes GSAM, laying the groundwork for what becomes a $3.7T AUS platform by Q1 2026 and the firm's primary long-term recurring-revenue growth engine.
- May 4, 1999IPO on NYSE — $3.66B raised at ~$33B valuationGoldman goes public at $53/share, ending 130 years as a private partnership. Shares opened at $76 and closed at $70.375, 33% above the offer price. It was the last major Wall Street investment bank to list publicly and the second-largest financial services IPO in U.S. history.
- September–October 2008Converts to bank holding company; Berkshire invests $5B; TARP $10B receivedGoldman converts to a BHC, receives $10B in TARP preferred capital from the U.S. Treasury, and raises $5B in 10% preferred equity from Berkshire Hathaway. TARP repaid in full by June 2009 at a profit for the government; Berkshire preferred redeemed 2011.
- October 2016Launches Marcus by Goldman SachsGoldman enters consumer banking with Marcus, an online savings and personal-loan platform — its first retail push in 147 years of existence as an institutional firm.
- 2020–2026Consumer banking exit: $7B+ losses, full retreat to institutional coreGoldman accumulated over $7 billion in cumulative pre-tax losses on its consumer ventures — including Marcus loans, Apple Card, and GreenSky (acquired for $2.2B in 2021, sold at a major loss in 2023). Goldman also sold Marcus Invest to Betterment (2024) and transferred the GM Card to Barclays (2024). In January 2026, JPMorgan Chase was announced as the new issuer of the Apple Card, with a 24-month transition of $20B in balances underway. The stock sharply re-rated higher once the consumer exit became clear.
- April 2026Acquires Innovator Capital Management for $2B; record AUS of $3.7TGoldman Sachs Asset Management completes a $2 billion acquisition of Innovator Capital Management — pioneer of defined-outcome ETFs — adding $31B in AUS across 171 ETFs and making Goldman a top-10 global active ETF provider with $90B in total ETF AUS.
Who are Goldman Sachs's competitors?
Goldman Sachs competes with other bulge-bracket investment banks in advisory and capital markets, universal banks with large trading operations, elite independent advisory boutiques, and large asset managers for AUS.
- JPMorgan ChaseLargest U.S. bank by revenue (~$132B in FY2025); broader consumer and commercial banking franchise gives it scale advantages in debt capital markets and corporate lending. Also the new issuer of the Apple Card, taking over that portfolio from Goldman.
- Morgan StanleyGoldman's closest peer in investment banking and institutional securities; leads in wealth management with $5T+ in client assets and a dominant retail brokerage network via E*Trade. The two firms compete for virtually every major M&A mandate and capital markets transaction.
- Bank of AmericaUniversal bank competing for M&A and underwriting mandates via BofA Securities; advantages in cross-sell from $3T+ consumer deposit base and integrated corporate treasury relationships.
- CitigroupGlobal universal bank with strong institutional clients group; competes in FX, rates, and emerging-market debt where its 160-country network is unmatched. Undertaking a major transformation under CEO Jane Fraser that directly targets Goldman's institutional client overlap.
- EvercoreElite M&A advisory boutique; competes for the largest advisory mandates without the conflicts of principal trading, attracting clients who want pure-play independent advice. Consistently ranks alongside Goldman in M&A league tables.
- BlackRockWorld's largest asset manager with $10T+ AUM; competes with Goldman's AWM division for institutional mandates, alternatives allocations, and passive flows through iShares. The two firms also compete for talent and for institutional ETF shelf space following Goldman's Innovator acquisition.
Goldman Sachs — frequently asked questions
