Goldman Sachs reported that it earned $13.4 billion for 2009 on revenues of $45.2 billion, or $22.13 per diluted common share, versus $4.47 for the year ended November 28, 2008. For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009, the firm reported earnings of $4.9 billion on revenues of $9.6 billion, with earnings per diluted common share of $8.20, versus a loss of $4.97 per diluted common share for the fourth quarter ended November 28, 2008.
The 2008-year earnings ended November 28 because that was the traditional year-end for Goldman Sachs—and some other broker/dealers as well—before Goldman Sachs became a bank holding company as it did in the fall of 2008, according to Samuel Robinson, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson. Once Goldman Sachs became a bank holding company, it was required to switch to a December 31 year end, which it did for 2009. December 2008 became a one-off “stub month” and was reported with the first quarter 2009 earnings. But, oddly, the December 2008 “stub” month gets left out of the year-over-year earnings.
For the full Goldman Sachs release, click here.
See related Morgan Stanley news, here.
See related Citibank news, here.
See related Bank of America news, here.
Comments? Please send them to kmcbride@wealthmanagerweb.com. Kate McBride is editor in chief of Wealth Manager and a member of The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard.