Goldman Sachs reported first-quarter earnings before the opening bell Wednesday.
The bank said Wednesday it earned $3.11 a share in the quarter on revenue of $8.74 billion.
Goldman shares are lower by 1.6% in the premarket following the results.
"Our quarterly profitability was inevitably affected by the economic dislocation," said David Solomon, chairman and CEO, in a release. " As public policy measures to stem the pandemic take root, I am firmly convinced that our firm will emerge well-positioned to help our clients and communities recover."
Trading results increased because of the market volatility. Fixed income operations posted net revenues of $2.97 billion, the division's best results in five years. Equities revenues came in at $2.19 billion, the second best quarter in five years.
Now, in the first quarter where the industry's results have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Goldman Sachs may be more insulated from the turmoil facing its bigger peers. Goldman has been the only bank to exceed analysts' expectations for revenue so far. Among the six biggest U.S. banks, Goldman derives the biggest share of its revenue from Wall Street activities including trading and mergers advice.
On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both posted sharp drops in first-quarter profit as the banks set aside a combined $10 billion for a coming deluge of loan defaults. A lone bright spot for the banks has been surging trading and bond issuance operations, driven in part by the historic jump in market volatility last month
Here's what Wall Street expected:
Earnings: $3.35 a share, 41% lower from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv.
Revenue: $7.92 billion, a 10% decrease from a year earlier.
Trading Revenue: Fixed Income $1.99 billion, equities $1.92 billion.
Investment Banking Revenue: $1.87 billion.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Source: cnbc.com