The Goldman Sachs Group (GS) Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Q&A Summary

Q: Glenn Schorr from Evercore ISI asked if there was anything unique contributing to the trading results in the quarter and how to think about investments in digital assets and market structures.

A: David Solomon stated that there was nothing unique to call out for the quarter and noted that tokenization and digital assets are important trends where the firm is actively investing and building capabilities, though activity remains small at the margin.

Q: Glenn Schorr asked David Solomon to address recent articles regarding succession and an acceleration.

A: David Solomon stated that he is very pleased with the firm's progress, is enjoying the job, and clarified that there is no succession transition or timeline underway at Goldman Sachs.

Q: L. Erika Penala from UBS asked how discussions and pipelines have evolved taking into account higher long-end rates and how to think about capital consumption in the fourth quarter.

A: David Solomon noted that a 5% 10-year treasury does not scare him historically and that the environment remains top quartile. Denis Coleman added that the firm maintains a 100 basis point capital buffer and feels comfortable having adequate capital for the fourth quarter.

Q: Ebrahim Poonawala from Bank of America asked if management shares concerns that the real choke point for AI CapEx will be financing given higher rates and unclear returns.

A: David Solomon stated that no one knows the exact direction of travel, that financing demands will be significant, and that the firm will remain disciplined and cautious about what it underwrites.

Q: Ebrahim Poonawala asked whether equity financing adds to the cyclicality of the business rather than making earnings more durable.

A: David Solomon explained that while equity financing carries some cyclicality with market movements, looking across a 3 to 5-year period, the growth of the business is correlated with GDP and market cap growth and provides an attractive baseline.

Q: Chinedu Bolu from Autonomous Research asked where the investment banking cycle stands and whether it has peaked.

A: David Solomon stated that capital markets activity remains a top quartile environment with a robust backlog, and while some IPOs were pulled due to valuation expectations, overall activity levels are strong.

Q: Chinedu Bolu asked how to think about capital management priorities in 2027 given strong financing demand and stock buybacks.

A: Denis Coleman responded that the firm prioritizes deploying into the client franchise, growing the dividend, and returning excess capital to shareholders while maintaining an appropriate capital buffer.

Q: Mike Mayo from Wells Fargo Securities asked if funding is a constraint for the tech super cycle and requested numbers on growth in Asia.

A: David Solomon reaffirmed his conviction in the strong tech super cycle while noting uncertainties around interest rates and politics. Denis Coleman added that geographic revenue mixes show a meaningful change in Asia's representation driven largely by equities and financing activity.

Q: Mike Mayo asked David Solomon about his personal plans for staying around as CEO.

A: David Solomon reiterated that there is no succession transition or timeline underway and that he and the Board are singularly focused on growing the firm.

Q: Steven Chubak from Wolfe Research asked how activity is migrating from public to private markets for digital infrastructure and how it impacts revenue economics.

A: David Solomon stated that capital demands require significant deployment from both public and private markets, and Goldman Sachs is uniquely positioned at the epicenter to advise, originate, distribute, and manage capital through its broad platform. Denis Coleman added that large companies driving the cycle have significant free cash flow capacity.

Q: Steven Chubak asked about the SLR constraint and the appetite to grow in nascent financing areas like tax-aware strategies.

A: Denis Coleman stated that the biggest balance sheet extension is behind them, they are migrating to running an SLR buffer similar to CET1, and they are exploring various wealth strategies.

Q: Manan Gosalia from Morgan Stanley asked for the outlook on sponsor-backed M&A and whether midterms are impacting client conversations.

A: David Solomon noted that sponsors have been slow to monetize vintages from 2020 and 2021 due to valuation marks, but that activity will eventually return as a tailwind. He added that clients are not sitting on the sidelines due to midterms and view the strategic window as robust.

Q: Brennan Hawken from BMO asked if de-grossing was observed in the quarter and how to break down trading revenue growth between balances and pricing.

A: Denis Coleman stated that financing grew about 3% sequentially, indicating that while there was some deleveraging and disruption, the trajectory remained healthy in a supply-constrained environment.

Q: Brennan Hawken asked if the year-to-date compensation ratio of 30% is expected for the full year and whether revenue mix influenced it.

A: Denis Coleman stated that 30% is their best estimate for the full year, noting that scalable, durable platform businesses like financing use financial resources rather than headcount, which provides favorable compensation ratio benefits over time.

Q: Dan Fannon from Jefferies asked about the growth rate and outlook for non-compensation expenses, including AI and tech investments.

A: Denis Coleman highlighted that transaction-based expenses are the biggest component growing with client activity, charitable contributions are pulling forward five years of planned giving, and technology investments are focused on data infrastructure, cloud migration, and models.

Q: Dan Fannon asked if wealth management organic inflows had any onetime items and what drove the $47 billion in net inflows.

A: Denis Coleman stated there were no particular onetimes, attributing the performance to a multiyear sustained investment in expanding the adviser footprint, geographic reach, and strong investment performance.

Q: Devin Ryan from Citizens Bank asked about alternatives fundraising momentum and whether it is driven by opportunistic market themes or structural changes.

A: David Solomon stated that the fundraising momentum is not opportunistic but rather the result of a concerted, six-plus-year strategy to scale the platform, customize solutions for institutional allocators, and grow the ultra-high-net-worth channel.

Q: Devin Ryan asked about potential gaps and acquisition opportunities in asset management.

A: David Solomon acknowledged that gaps remain across certain private asset categories and stated the firm will continue to consider acquisitions that fit culturally and accelerate scale.

Q: Gerard Cassidy from RBC asked for elaboration on the marks and drivers behind the higher credit provision.

A: Denis Coleman explained that the two drivers were overall portfolio growth from deploying capital into lending relationships and highly idiosyncratic, non-correlated impairments on a couple of individual names.

Q: Gerard Cassidy asked if there are other global opportunities similar to the lean into Asia.

A: Denis Coleman stated that while Asia was chosen because the firm was underscale there and terms were attractive, there are plenty of other places around the world to drive incremental growth.

Q: Chris McGratty from KBW asked how much of the outperformance on ROE targets is cyclical versus structural.

A: David Solomon stated that the firm is structurally running a broader, more durable franchise with higher fundamental returns resulting from multi-year strategic investments, while acknowledging that the current top-quartile environment also flatters returns.

Q: Chris McGratty asked how a divided government from the midterms could impact the capital markets business.

A: David Solomon declined to speculate, noting that the election is a month away and prediction markets are not reliable forecasters of the post-election environment.