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%). 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.

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. Meanwhile, provisions for credit losses remain elevated (e.g. Goldman reported ~$339 million in Q3). 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.