Washington, July 17, 2025 – Goldman Sachs reported a jump in second-quarter profits Wednesday behind significant increases in financial advisory revenues that chief executive David Solomon said could presage an uptick in dealmaking.
“Anecdotally, the level of dialogue is significantly increased,” Solomon told analysts on a conference call after the investment bank’s earnings surpassed analyst estimates.
There is a greater “confidence level on the part of CEOs, that significant scaled industry consolidation is possible,” said Solomon, who attributed the shift to the Trump administration’s more favorable posture towards mergers compared with regulators in the Biden administration.
Later in an interview with CNBC, Solomon also said he was sensing a “little bit of an acceleration” in the economy as sentiment has improved. In April he warned of increased recession as President Donald Trump’s aggressive initial tariff launch roiled markets.
The comments came as the big US investment bank scored a 20 percent increase in profits to $3.5 billion compared with the year-ago period, easily topping analyst expectations.
Revenues rose 15 percent to $14.6 billion.
Goldman said increases in advisory fees reflected strength in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Bankers had been bullish on dealmaking after Trump’s November election victory.
But in the first quarter, investment banks said such activity was placed on the backburner as the White House focused on fast-changing trade policy.
Executives at rival financial services companies expressed hope Tuesday for more deals, with clients opting to charge ahead despite tariff uncertainty. Trump has threatened steep tariff increases on countries that don’t reach trade deals with Washington.
Solomon expressed measured optimism about the economy.
“It’s hard to say that confidence is not higher on July 15 than it was on May 15,” Solomon told CNBC. “And if confidence is higher, you’re going to see that in behavior.”
Shares of Goldman Sachs rose 0.4 percent in afternoon trading.
