Goldman’s Q3 2025 Surge: Investment Banking Fees & Trading Boost Lead Wall Street Rebound

Goldman Sachs delivered a dominant Q3 2025, capitalizing on a resurgent investment banking environment. Its advisory revenues exploded ~60% YoY, complemented by robust gains in both debt underwriting (~30%) and equity underwriting (~21%) [2][6][7]. With fees up 42%, this places Goldman at the head of the pack among its Wall Street peers in capturing the rebound in deal activity [2][9][21].

Citi similarly posted a strong performance: overall revenues rose ~9%, with banking revenue up ~34%, primarily due to investment banking. Markets revenues increased ~15% and investment banking fees climbed ~17% YoY. Earnings per share, both GAAP and adjusted, beat estimates significantly [1news20][1search2][1search4].

Morgan Stanley reported a ~44% YoY increase in investment banking revenue, joining Goldman and Citigroup in benefiting from strong equity trading, underwriting, and advisory activity [0news22][1news22]. Bank of America grew dealmaking fees ~43%, driven by both advisory and underwriting income [0news21].

However, not all trends are uniformly positive. Goldman’s equities intermediation revenues underperformed estimates, and fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) revenue—though positive YoY—showed more moderate strength [2][6]. Meanwhile, provisions for credit losses remain elevated (e.g. Goldman reported ~$339 million in Q3) [6][8]. Expense growth, particularly at major banks like JPMorgan, also presents a drag, with rising costs for talent, AI deployment, and regulatory demands [1news16][1news12].

Strategic implications indicate a favorable environment for investment banking, with M&A and public market activities likely to carry momentum into 2026. Goldman expects strong M&A in EMEA and globally, and its market share in European M&A in 2025 is at a 25-year high [0news16][0news15]. Citigroup aims to improve ROTCE toward its 10-11% target [1news14][1search4]. But macro risks remain, including regulatory uncertainty, interest rate volatility, and uneven credit performance among consumer and corporate portfolios.