Goldman Sachs (GS) Q3 Profit Falls 2% As Its Bond Trading Volume Drops

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) on Thursday reported a 2 percent profit decline for the third quarter as its bond-trading volume fell, but the fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets still beat Wall Street expectations as expenses declined.

The New York investment bank reported net income of $1.43 billion, or $2.88 per share, compared with $1.46 billion, or $2.85 per share, a year earlier. Revenue plunged 20 percent to $6.72 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings per share of $2.43 on revenue of $7.35 billion.

Meanwhile, total operating expenses declined 25 percent to $4.56 billion, primarily on reduced compensation.

Fixed-income, currency, and commodity-trading revenue plunged 47 percent to $1.29 billion, excluding a $47 million accounting adjustment. Several Wall Street banks including Goldman were stung by weak fixed-income trading as investors watched to see if the Federal Reserve would continue its bond-buying stimulus program.