高盛利润翻番难阻股价下挫

    受股票和债券发行激增的推动，高盛（Goldman Sachs）二季度利润同比增长一倍多，达到了19亿美元。交易收入较上年同期也有所增长，但低于一季度的水平，可能反映了近期利率上涨导致的客户退缩。

    “当季客户的风险喜好大幅波动，”高盛首席财务官哈维•舒瓦茨在该行的业绩电话会议上告诉分析师和投资者。“我们的客户正在权衡，美国经济回升能否抵消其他地区的放缓。”

    高盛自身看起来已经抓住了美国经济改善和股市回暖的机遇。二季度，这家银行的股票承销和交易佣金收入同比分别大增55%和25%。债券市场承销佣金收入也增长了40%。高盛自营股票投资（部分投资于私有公司）当季也贡献了5亿美元的增长。

    整体而言，高盛二季度每股收益3.70美元，大大高于分析师们此前预期的2.82美元。二季度收入同比增长30%至86亿美元。而且，此次利润大增出现在高盛似乎已经决定上调早已不菲的员工薪酬之际。今年迄今为止，高盛已将一笔付给31,700名员工的80多亿美元薪酬费用入账，相当于人均252,366美元。这笔钱包括福利、薪水以及尚未实际支付的奖金，且这个数字高于去年上半年的226,006美元。

    但高盛的利润变化也表明，金融危机爆发近五年后，在美国国会通过里程碑式的金融改革、对美国大银行可承担的风险进行限制近三年后，华尔街业务的波动性特征依然明显。虽然业绩同比上涨，但高盛几乎所有业务的表现都不如今年一季度，高盛一季度每股收益达到了4.29美元。

    这样的业绩波动，以及利率上升可能继续抑制投资者活动并阻碍达成交易的担忧，看起来依然让投资者望而却步。周二早间高盛发布业绩后，今年迄今涨幅近30%的高盛股票收盘下跌了2.76美元，下滑至160.24美元。

    而且，高盛利润当中较大一部分仍来自于自有资金投资业务。高盛称，在限制大银行高风险交易的沃克尔法则（Volcker rule）以及其他多德-弗兰克（Dodd-Frank）改革措施全面实施后，很多这些所谓的自营交易仍然是被允许进行的。但最终的法规将对利润产生多大影响仍然是个未知数。正如大家所预计的，同时也和监管机构担忧的那样，这一点也会加剧高盛的利润波动。

    高盛自营业务二季度收入较一季度骤减近三分之一，下降到了14亿美元，但比起2012年二季度的2亿美元相比仍然猛增了590%。

    与此同时，高盛二季度业绩也显示出，这家公司正在努力将自身重塑为一家更传统的银行。高盛的贷款和债券市场交易业务创造了6.58亿美元收入，几乎是其一年前收入2.22亿美元的近三倍。但高盛拒绝透露这些收入中有多少来自利息收入，多少来自债券交易。

    事实上，高盛守口如瓶的企业文化在业绩发布后的投资者电话会议上展露无遗，同时还引发了一些争议。

    Goldman Sachs's profits in the second quarter more than doubled from a year earlier to $1.9 billion, propelled by a surge in stock and bond offerings. Trading revenues were up as well from a year ago, but down from the first quarter, perhaps showing how the recent rise in interest rates prompted clients to retreat.

    "Client risk appetite definitely fluctuated during the quarter," Goldman's CFO Harvey Schwartz told analysts and investors on a conference call about the bank's earnings. "Our clients are assessing whether improvements in the U.S. economy will offset the slowdown elsewhere."

    Goldman itself appeared to be able to capitalize on the improving U.S. economy and the rising stock market. Fees from stock market underwriting and trading rose 55% and 25% from the same period a year ago. Bond market underwriting fees were also up 40%. And Goldman's own equity investments, some of which are in private companies, generated an additional $500 million in gains in the quarter.

    In all, Goldman's earnings translated to $3.70 per share. That was far better than the $2.82 analysts had expected the firm to earn. Revenue was up 30% from a year ago to $8.6 billion. And the big bottom-line jump happened even though Goldman (GS) appears to have decided to up the pay of its already richly rewarded employees. So far this year, Goldman has booked a compensation expense, which includes benefits and salaries as well as yet-to-actually-be-paid-out bonuses, of over $8 billion to pay 31,700 employees, equal to $252,366 each. That's up from $226,006 in the first half of last year.

    But Goldman's bottom line also showed how volatile the business of Wall Street remains nearly five years after the financial crisis, and almost three years after Congress passed landmark financial reform that was supposed to limit the risks that the largest U.S. banks could take. Despite being up from a year ago, nearly all of Goldman's businesses were down from the first three months of the year, when the company earned $4.29 a share.

    That volatility, and the fear that rising interest rates will continue to temper investor activity and hamper deals, appeared to spook investors. Goldman's shares, which had been up nearly 30% this year, closed down $2.76 to $160.24, following the firm's morning earnings announcement.

    What's more, a good portion of Goldman's profits continue to come from the unit that invests the firm's own money. Goldman says much of this so-called proprietary trading will still be allowed after the Volcker rule, which is supposed to limit risky trading at the big banks, and other Dodd-Frank reforms are fully implemented. But how much the final rules will curtail these profits is still in question. It also adds, as you would expect and regulators worry, to Goldman's profit swings.

    Revenue from prop trading fell by nearly a third in the second quarter from the first three months of the year to $1.4 billion. But that was up 590% from the $200 million Goldman made from the same business the second three months of 2012.

    At the same time, Goldman's second-quarter earnings also showed how the firm is trying to remake itself into more of a traditional bank. Goldman generated $658 million from lending and debt market transactions. That was nearly triple the $222 million the firm made in the same area a year ago. Goldman, however, declined to detail how much of those revenues were from collecting interest payments, and how much was from bond trading.

    Indeed, Goldman's tight-lipped culture came out in a conference call with investors following the earnings release, creating some contentious moments.