By AnnaMaria Andriotis and Charley Grant
Goldman Sachs reported sharply higher profit for the fourth quarter, bolstered by a strong performance in its asset and wealth management business.
The bank on Tuesday said quarterly profit was $2.01 billion, up 51% from a year ago.
That amounted to $5.48 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $3.62 per share.
Revenue was $11.32 billion, up 7% from a year ago. That beat the $10.8 billion expected by analysts.
Like its peers, Goldman had to recognize a special assessment by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The agency charged lenders as a way to refill its coffers from last year’s bank failures. Goldman took a $529 million charge, roughly in line with what it had already predicted.
Goldman shares were up nearly 1% in premarket trading. Investors welcomed the report, especially after eight previous quarters of earnings declines.
The bank has been engaged in a costly retreat from its once-grand ambitions to serve the masses, hurting its profits for multiple quarters. It has pinned much of its hopes on its asset and wealth management business, hoping the unit can provide steady returns no matter the environment. The unit’s revenue increased 23%, thanks in part to a much stronger stock market.
Revenue from investment banking and trading, Goldman’s traditional powerhouses, were both down for the quarter. Goldman carried out its plan to cut staff. It finished the year with 45,300 employees, down 1% from the end of September and 7% from the end of 2022. Other peers are also tightening: Citigroup said last week it plans to cut 20,000 jobs.
Write to AnnaMaria Andriotis at annamaria.andriotis@wsj.com and Charley Grant at charles.grant@wsj.com