Contrary to what is expected, Goldman Sachs breaks the general mood of traders who were anticipating dismal first-quarter reports by reporting a better-than-expected profit of $1.8 billion. This is in stark contrast to its report in the previous quarter regarded as the company’s worst in its history as a public company.
Goldman Sachs also announced plans to raise $5 billion through sales of stock to become the first big bank to give taxpayers their money back after getting bailout funds from last year. This has got to be encouraging news not only for the market but for the people as well.
The profit reports reflect a profit of $3.39 a share amounting to $1.81 billion for the first quarter of 2009. A Thomson Financial survey revealed that experts were only expecting just $1.64 a share. Goldman credits by gains in its fixed-income business giving the company a revenue of $6.56 billion.
In a statement, CEO Lloyd Blankfein said “Given the difficult market conditions, we are pleased with this quarter’s performance.”
Source: CNN Money
