Veteran trader parses Goldman Sachs Q2 report, offers surprising view | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

In 1869, a German immigrant named Marcus Goldman started a business in New York City in a one-room basement office next to a coal chute.

The firm didn’t stay in the basement for long.

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The business grew at an astonishing pace until it became the legendary Goldman Sachs (GS) , one of the world’s largest investment banks.

Three U.S. treasury secretaries who came directly from Goldman Sachs — Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson and Steve Mnuchin and the firm’s broader history of employees transitioning into high-level government positions inspired the nickname “Government Sachs.”

In 1987, more than a century after Marcus Goldman opened for business, TheStreet Pro’s Stephen Guilfoyle applied for a job at the prestigious firm and was called in for an interview.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Soloman says the firm’s ‘global client franchise has never been stronger.’

Veteran trader Sarge Guilfoyle describes Goldman interview

“I had the Marine Corps on my resume, and I was going to night school, but I didn’t know much about the business,” he said in a recent column

This was before the infamous stock market meltdown, when Guilfoyle — who is known as Sarge, in line with his rank as a sergeant — was working for the Pershing division of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

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“On Wall Street, some used to call them ‘The Empire,'” he said “Others used to say that if you needed 1,000 hammers today, Goldman Sachs bought the hardware store yesterday. If you needed 1,000 birthday cakes today, Goldman bought the bakery yesterday.”

Guilfoyle said he had not known how elite people at the storied investment firm thought they were — but he soon found out.

“The interviewer made a donkey’s tail out of me, asked me questions I couldn’t possibly answer, which may have been a test in hindsight,” he said. “Finally, she asked me, ‘What in the world makes you think you are worthy of working for Goldman Sachs?’ “

Needless to say, Guilfoyle didn’t get the job. And so he moved on.

“By 1998, I had become one of the more well-thought-of floor traders at First Boston during the dot-com bubble,” he said. “I ran a section of the floor. I had been added to the execution side of the investment banking team. I was no longer a ‘know nothing’ looking for a job. I was being well compensated.”

And then about 11 years later — well, what do you know? — along comes Goldman Sachs looking to recruit Guilfoyle.

“I laughed and laughed,” he said. “I then told the recruiter that I would rather be out of work than work for Goldman Sachs. I never forgot how I was treated in their offices when I was really just a buck sergeant looking for a job.”

Many years later, the veteran trader did indeed find himself out of work, and it turned out to be a blessing.

Guilfoyle parses Goldman Sachs report

“I started my own business and have been working for myself for more than nine years now,” he said. “Looking back, I can’t believe that I ever allowed myself to work for someone else for so long. Had things not worked out the way they did, I never would have realized my potential.”

Still, he added, “I don’t like the way that Goldman recruiter treated me on that day in 1987.”

On July 15, Goldman Sachs beat Wall Street’s second-quarter earnings expectations, with profit jumping 22% and revenue surging 15% from a year ago.

“Amid shifting market dynamics, we remained relentlessly focused on serving our clients with excellence,” Chief Executive David Solomon said on the earnings call. “Our global client franchise has never been stronger, and I’m proud of how we’ve helped our clients navigate periods of heightened uncertainty.”

Goldman posted GAAP earnings per share of $10.91 on revenue of $14.58 billion.

“These numbers not only crushed expectations but also compare very well to the year-ago EPS of $8.62, while reflecting year-over-year revenue growth of 14.5%,” he said.

Guilfoyle acknowledged his bad blood with Goldman Sachs, while noting that “I am sure no one still working there knows who I am.

“I could be biased as I go through my analysis of the firm’s second-quarter earnings, but I have never been a fan,” he said. “I have traded the stock but never invested in the name, despite its success.”

Still and all, Guilfoyle analyzed Goldman Sachs’s chart.

The shares might be “setting up for another leg of the stock’s recent rally,” Guilfoyle said.

From mid-February to well into May, the chart formed what technical analysts call a cup-and-handle pattern, with the stock running up from $620 to $726 and then pausing, Guilfoyle said.

The stock now appears to be forming what’s called a bullish pennant, which means the “uptrend is still in place,” he said.

Argus lifts price target on Goldman Sachs

Several investment firms also issued research reports following Goldman’s earnings release.

Argus boosted its price target on GS to $765 from $580 and affirmed a buy rating on the shares.

Goldman’s second quarter reflected record results in equities as well as strong advisory revenue, investment banking fees, and fixed-income, currency and commodities results, the firm said, according to The Fly.

The investment banking environment, which had a few false starts in 2023 and 2024, has rebounded from the first-quarter tariff-related market turmoil and uncertainty that paused deal activity, Argus added.