Goldman Sachs had a tough year in 2022. And CEO David Solomon was also “punished” for it.
Even so, the investment banking giant said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday that Solomon received $25 million in annual compensation last year. While still a very large amount, it’s down nearly 30% from the $35 million Solomon raised during 2021.
Solomon’s $2 million annual salary remains unchanged. But the company said its “annual variable compensation,” paid in a mix of actions based on performance and money, was well below 2021 levels.
The reason: weaker earnings compared to 2021 results. Goldman Sachs (GS) shares also fell more than 10% in 2022, though not as big a drop as rivals Morgan Stanley (MS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC).
Still, Goldman Sachs (like the rest of Wall Street) has been hit hard by the slowdown in earnings over the past year. The company reported a 16% drop in fourth-quarter revenue and a 66% drop in profit earlier this month, mainly due to a lack of public merger activity and initial offerings.
In fact, Goldman Sachs earnings missed Wall Street’s consensus forecasts by the widest margin since the third quarter of 2011. Solomon said in the company’s earnings release that the company faced “a tough economic backdrop.”
Goldman Sachs is having a particularly difficult time trying to branch out beyond its traditional investment banking business. The company’s consumer-focused businesses are losing money, and as a result, Goldman Sachs is scaling back some of its efforts to reach average bank customers.
And if Solomon is short on cash, he can always get more DJ gigs on the side.
Source: CNN Brasil
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