Goldman’s share price rose 3 percent on Monday.
Doesn’t a bank like Goldman always make lots of money?
Err, no, not always.
How have other banks fared?
At the end of last week, some of Goldman’s competitors, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, reported weaknesses in some parts of their businesses in the first quarter. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, warned of an “unsettling” global landscape, highlighting a cascade of pressures, including war, rising geopolitical tensions and inflation. He described financial markets as “too happy.”
As Goldman has a relatively tiny consumer business — think bank branches — it may weather the uncertainty better than lenders with broader exposure to the economy. It may even do well; Goldman said Monday that it actually made more money from its credit card arm, which runs cards for stores like Apple, in part because customers were carrying higher balances.
Morgan Stanley, another bank with a similar profile to Goldman, reports earnings on Tuesday.
What have bank leaders said about the economy?
Bank earnings are closely followed because they often contain hints about the economy overall, but this year’s collection has so far painted a muddled picture. While Mr. Dimon was relatively pessimistic, Citi said its outlook for places like Europe had improved recently.
“Overall, when we look at the global economy, the strength seems to be resilient. We do expect that there will be a slowdown in growth through 2024, but when you look at the labor markets and the strength of the consumer, that seems to be holding up,” said Mark Mason, Citi’s chief financial officer.
Goldman’s chief executive, David M. Solomon, avoided making a prediction on the economy. On Monday, he said that the bank was “constructive” on the health of the U.S. economy, but that “the trajectory is still uncertain.”
