Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, fueled by outsized bond trading profits.

The New York-based firm reported net income for common shareholders of $3.03 billion, or $5.25 a share. That compares with $845 million, or $1.81 per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Analysts on average had forecast earnings of $4.24 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Goldman shares were down 1.4 percent premarket trading Thursday.

Goldman set aside $5.4 billion for compensation during the third quarter, raising its total to $16.8 billion for the year. In the first half of the year, it averaged $5.7 billion per quarter, or just under half its revenue.

Goldman Shares closed at $192.28 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares are up more than 300 percent since lows set last November.

(Reporting by Steve Eder; editing by John Wallace)

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