Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) released its latest earnings report before opening bell this morning. On an adjusted basis, Goldman Sachs Q4 2017 earnings came in at $5.68 per share, while revenue amounted to $7.83 billion. Analysts had been looking for earnings of $4.92 per share in earnings on $7.65 billion in revenue. In the year-ago quarter, the firm reported $8.17 billion in revenue and earnings of $5.02 per share.
Goldman Sachs Q4 2017 earnings: swing to a loss
After including the impact of the firm's massive tax reform-related charge in the Goldman Sachs Q4 2017 earnings results, the firm posted a loss of $5.51 per share or $1.93 billion. The charge amounted to $4.4 billion in tax expense related to the tax reform bill. The fourth quarter also included $9 million in expenses for net provisions for litigation and regulatory proceedings, compared to $147 million in the year-ago quarter.
“Last year, we delivered higher revenue and stronger pre-tax margins despite a challenging environment for our market-making businesses,” Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement on the Goldman Sachs Q4 2017 earnings results. “With the global economy poised to accelerate, new U.S. tax legislation providing tailwinds and a leading franchise across our businesses, we are well positioned to serve our clients and make significant progress on the growth plan we outlined in September.”
Goldman Sachs posts higher investment banking revenue
Investment banking revenue surged 44% to $2.14 billion, coming out ahead of the consensus at $1.67 billion. Financial advisory revenues rose 9% year over year to $722 million, while underwriting revenues grew 76% to $1.37 billion. Investment management revenues increased 4% year over year to $1.66 billion, driven by higher management and other fees and growth in assets under supervision.
Institutional client services revenues tumbled 34% year over year to $2.37 billion. Fixed income, currencies and commodities revenue plunged 50% year over year to $1 billion on a difficult year-over-year comparison, a wide miss of the consensus at $1.39 billion. Equities revenue tumbled 14% to $1.37 billion, also missing the consensus of $1.58 billion. investing and lending revenue jumped 12% year over year to $1.66 billion, beating the consensus of $1.39 billion.
