Goldman CEO David Solomon sees ‘markedly different’ environment from earlier this year: Q1 earnings

Goldman Sachs handily beat Wall Street expectations when it reported first quarter results Monday, despite a drop in advisory fees. 

Goldman said Monday that Q1 net earnings rose 15% to $4.74 billion compared to $4.1 billion for the same period in 2024. The bank posted diluted earnings per share of $14.12, roughly 15% more than Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $12.31 a share.

Total net revenue rose 6% to $15.06 billion in Q1, versus $14.2 billion for the same period in 2024.

Dealmakers had expected mergers and IPOs to rebound in the first quarter with the change in presidential administrations. That didn’t happen. U.S. mergers dropped nearly 24% in the first quarter, Fortune has reported. Then, on April 2, President Donald Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs, which caused the U.S. stock market to plunge while deals and IPOs went on pause.

“While we are entering the second quarter with a markedly different operating environment than earlier this year, we remain confident in our ability to continue to support our clients,” said David Solomon, Goldman’s chair and CEO, in a statement.

Goldman, a top M&A advisor, said that advisory fees in Q1 dropped 22% to $792 million. Equities trading revenue jumped 27% to $4.19 billion for the quarter. Global banking and market net revenue rose 10% to $10.7 billion.

Last week, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chairman and CEO,  warned about the prospects for the U.S. economy, which he said was facing “considerable turbulence.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com