Goldman Sachs soars 51%, but year tests bank’s resilience.

TLDR: Goldman Sachs reported a 51% jump in profits for the fourth quarter of 2023, thanks to strong returns in the overall market and its wealth management division. However, the bank’s profits for the full year were down nearly a third from the previous year, as it wrote off its consumer banking franchise and laid off employees. Goldman’s investment banking and advising revenues also saw declines, as many companies held off on major deals due to high financing costs. The bank’s return on common equity was 7.5%, below its target of 10%. Despite the challenges, Goldman Sachs beat analysts’ expectations and had a quarterly profit of $2 billion.