Goldman Sachs Posts Lower Q3 Profit

reported a drop in its earnings for the third quarter on Thursday. The New York-based bank posted quarterly net income of $1.43 billion, or $2.90 per share, compared to $2.24 billion, or $4.57 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue slipped to $6.86 billion from $8.39 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.91 per share on revenue of $7.13 billion. The average estimate among 153 Estimize users was for earnings of $3.76 per share and revenue of $7.87 billion. Its revenue from fixed-income, currency and commodity trading dropped 33 percent to $1.46 billion in the quarter. However, equities trading revenue gained 9 percent to $1.75 billion. Net revenue in Investment Banking climbed 6 percent year-over-year to $1.56 billion, while revenue in Institutional Client Services declined 15 percent to $3.21 billion. Net revenue in Investing & Lending dipped 60 percent to $670 million, while revenue in Investment Management fell 3 percent to $1.42 billion. Operating expenses declined 5 percent to $4.82 billion for the quarter. Annualized return on average common shareholders' equity came in at 7.0 percent for the quarter. During the quarter, Goldman Sachs repurchased 5.4 million shares of its common stock for a total cost of $1.05 billion. "We experienced lower levels of activity and declining asset prices during the quarter, reflecting renewed concerns about global economic growth," said Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to see strong levels of activity in Investment Banking and growth in Investment Management, and looking ahead, are encouraged by the competitive positioning of our global client franchise. Our focus on serving our clients and improving operating leverage puts us in a strong position to generate superior returns for our shareholders." Goldman Sachs shares fell 0.90 percent to $177.89 in pre-market trading.