Goldman Sachs Had Good Earnings, but It Could Learn From Morgan Stanley
ByGoldman Sachs edged past Morgan Stanley on style points in the third quarter, but not on substance. Lloyd Blankfein’s firm cranked out $2 billion of earnings in the three months to the end of September, at an annualized return on equity of 10.9 percent. That bested the 9.6 percent showing of Goldman’s main Wall Street rival — the first time this year that it has come out ahead. Morgan Stanley’s boss, James Gorman, though, has crafted a more attractive-looking business for the longer term.
Goldman still has strengths. It came back from a dismal first-half performance trading fixed income, currencies and commodities, reporting a 26 percent year-on-year decline in revenue from that business. While horrid, that places Goldman in the Wall Street pack rather than behind it. And the firm leads its peers in merger advice. Fees generated by Goldman’s deal makers increased by 38 percent in the quarter, year on year, where the industry fee pool fell by 9 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data…
Goldman Sachs Had Good Earnings, but It Could Learn From Morgan Stanley
