Moments ago Goldman reports its first quarter earnings, which beat expectations that had been drastically lowered into this quarter. Specifically, total Q1 revenue printed at $9.33 billion, beating expectations of $8.66Bn, while EPS, which declined 6% from a year ago, also beat Estimates of $3.49 at $4.02. Looking at the key operating segments, the all important FICC revenue was $2.85Bn, also above the sharply reduced estimate of $2.63Bn, while IB was $1.78Bn, more than the Wall Street estimate of $1.52Bn. That was the good news.
The bad news: Goldman's first quarter results were the worst since the Lehman crisis, and just to put the critical FICC group's revenues in perspective: at $2.9 billion they were less than half what FICC recorded in Q1 2010 when people apparently still traded. And whether due to Volcker or not, Goldman's prop group (Investing and Lending) reported just $1.5 billion in revenue - the worst also since Lehman.
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Despite the rhetoric, one can certainly see the trends here and so can Goldman management, which explains why the firm is launching on a market structure overhaul crusade which as recently as five years ago, was reserved for tinfoil hat conspiracy blogs.
Finally, and worst of all, if only for Goldman employees, the average compensation for the firm's workers, dropped to $376,840, down 7% from a year ago, and the lowest comp, based on accruals, since Q2 2012.
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