• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

2

MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says

1

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

2

MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says

Goldman profit estimates tumble

By
Colin Barr
Colin Barr
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Colin Barr
Colin Barr
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 23, 2010, 3:37 PM ET

Is Wall Street’s trading gold rush over?

You might well think so after perusing a report out Wednesday morning from Barclays Capital analyst Roger Freeman. He slashed his second-quarter earnings estimates on Goldman Sachs and cut his price target on the stock, which he rates hold, by $20 a share.

The reason? Trading profits have “hit an air pocket,” he writes.



A less than glittering 2010

While all the bank and brokerage analysts have been mulling over how last month’s market turn will affect second-quarter earnings, few are predicting as big an impact as Freeman. He slashed his profit forecast for Goldman from $5.35, a full dollar above the analyst consensus, to $1.95, which is 50% below the Street.

A quarter of the drop stems from the earnings hit Goldman and other banks will take on the U.K. bank tax. But the bigger driver is a steep decline in the bank’s main trading operation, the fixed income, commodities and currencies unit.

Freeman predicts revenue there will drop 40% from its elevated first-quarter level to $4.4 billion, as the Greek crisis spurred traders to pull back.

“We believe these market headwinds, while certainly smaller than those seen in 2008 and early 2009, have impacted broker-dealer revenue generation in terms of client activity levels, trading revenue and investment banking results,” he writes.

Freeman isn’t the only one cutting estimates. William Blair analyst Mark Lane more than halved his second-quarter profit forecast to $2.10, saying the “pullback in global financial markets is putting pressure on nearly every major business.”

Yet even with the markets looking edgy and the ultimate impact of regulatory reform unclear, Lane continues to tell clients to buy the stock, saying its plunge this year reflects “extremely negative” sentiment that should improve as rule changes take shape.

Freeman, for his part, writes that second-quarter numbers for the banks should be “more divergent across the Street, driven more by relative positioning for the moves this quarter.”

That’s usually plays to the advantage of Goldman, which saw its shares rise fractionally to $135 and change Wednesday – leaving them a full $40 shy of Freeman’s reduced price target.

About the Author
By Colin Barr
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Serena Williams
SuccessSerena Williams
Serena Williams’ secret to success is about more than talent: You have to grind ‘every day’
By Emma BurleighJune 6, 2026
1 hour ago
Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
Real Estatemortgages
Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
By Sydney LakeJune 6, 2026
1 hour ago
sa
CommentaryIPOs
When good money goes bad: the question SpaceX and OpenAI investors aren’t asking
By Rory McDonaldJune 6, 2026
2 hours ago
Man holding his fists together.
InnovationElon Musk
Elon Musk bullet-proofed his $1 trillion ‘Mars-shot’ pay at SpaceX after the epic battle over his $56 billion moonshot at Tesla
By Amanda GerutJune 6, 2026
2 hours ago
Upset frustrated and confused female worker folding hands on chin
Future of Workcompensation
A CEO denied raises to spend money on AI instead. Companies have ‘no idea what they’re going to need in a workforce’ when the AI race is over
By Jacqueline MunisJune 6, 2026
4 hours ago
SpaceX needs to grow 60x in a decade to justify a $1.75 trillion valuation. No company has ever come close
InvestingFinance
SpaceX needs to grow 60x in a decade to justify a $1.75 trillion valuation. No company has ever come close
By Shawn TullyJune 6, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
AI
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing
Success
MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing
By Sydney LakeJune 5, 2026
1 day ago
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
Economy
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
By Nick LichtenbergJune 5, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 5, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 5, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 5, 2026
23 hours ago
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
Cybersecurity
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
By Sasha RogelbergJune 3, 2026
3 days ago
'Big Tech is desperate': Amazon engineers are calling out the tech giant for its $200 billion in data center spending after slashing 30,000 workers
Environment
'Big Tech is desperate': Amazon engineers are calling out the tech giant for its $200 billion in data center spending after slashing 30,000 workers
By Sasha RogelbergJune 5, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.