Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) (GS) Q1 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning. My name is Katie, and I will be your conference facilitator today. I would like to welcome everyone to the Goldman Sachs first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. On behalf of Goldman Sachs, I will begin the call with the following disclaimer. The earnings presentation can be found on the investor relations page of the Goldman Sachs website and contains information on forward-looking statements and non-GAAP measures. This audio cast is copyrighted material of the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and may not be duplicated, reproduced, or rebroadcast without consent. This call is being recorded today, April 13th, 2026. I will now turn the call over to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and Chief Financial Officer Dennis Coleman. Thank you. Mr. Solomon, you may begin your conference. Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining us. In the first quarter, we delivered a very strong performance, generating net revenues of $17.2 billion, net earnings of $5.6 billion, and earnings per share of $17.55, all three of which were the second highest in the history of Goldman Sachs. As a result, we delivered a return on equity of 19.8% and an ROTE of 21.3%. These results reflect the strength of our global franchise and the depth of our relationships and our ability to execute for clients while maintaining a strong focus on risk management in a highly dynamic environment. 2026 began with a degree of optimism. Markets hit record highs. Confidence continued to build, with most clients focused on growth, strategic activity, and capital deployments. As we've said, things were only moving a straight line. And as the quarter progressed, the macro environment started to weigh on sentiment. Volatility increased meaningfully, and the co...