Goldman Sachs

Allocation has been disciplined since the consumer reset. In 2025 year‑to‑date through Q3, Goldman returned 12.55 billion to common shareholders, including 9.36 billion of buybacks and 3.19 billion in dividends, and raised the quarterly dividend by 33 percent.

The firm sold or wound down noncore consumer exposures (PFM, GreenSky, GM cards transition) and is exiting Apple Card, freeing capital and management attention. Bolt‑on acquisitions focus on fee platforms and distribution (Innovator in ETFs) rather than balance‑sheet‑intensive deals.

We view this as consistent with compounding TBV per share at attractive through‑cycle ROTCE. Risk remains that buybacks occur at rich multiples during peaks, so we prefer repurchases at or below targeted P/TBV thresholds.