Goldman Sachs pay set to rise as bonuses track stronger earnings

Goldman Sachs is signaling a pay year that should reward the desks tied most closely to its stronger businesses. Compensation spending rose 10% in the first nine months of 2025 even as headcount increased only 4%, and the average employee was on track to earn about $393,000, up from $372,000 a year earlier.

That bigger payout envelope was built on stronger operating results. Goldman said third-quarter 2025 net revenues reached $15.18 billion and net earnings were $4.10 billion, while operating expenses rose mainly because compensation and benefits costs increased alongside improved performance. Investment banking fees climbed to $2.66 billion, 42% higher than a year earlier, driven by higher advisory revenues from more completed M&A and stronger debt underwriting, especially leveraged finance.

For people trying to read their own bonus outlook, the split matters. The quarter favored advisory and debt capital markets, while FX and cash equities intermediation were weaker. In practice, that kind of mix tends to shape who benefits when the firm resets compensation pools: teams feeding the most profitable businesses usually have more leverage, while groups with softer revenues can see less upside even when the firm overall is paying more.

Goldman’s staffing growth adds another layer. The firm said it added 2,400 people net in the quarter, much of it through campus recruiting, which means the compensation dollars are being spread across a larger base of employees. For analysts, associates and VPs, the headline is not just that pay is rising, but that the competition for those dollars is still intense, with total compensation tied to both individual contribution and the profitability of adjacent businesses.

That logic tracks with Goldman’s broader message about how it wants to run the firm. Chief financial officer Denis Coleman has described the strategy as driving “scale across the platform” while staying focused on “pay for performance.” Goldman has also previously targeted costs at about 60% of revenues, a reminder that compensation is still one of the largest line items on the income statement and one of the clearest signals of how much cash can flow into year-end bonuses.

The full-year picture reinforced the backdrop for staff pay. Goldman reported 2025 net revenues of $58.28 billion and net earnings of $17.18 billion. Its annual report said net revenues rose 9% year over year to $58.3 billion, earnings per share grew 27% to $51.32, and return on equity improved by 230 basis points to 15.0%. For employees, that is the real decode: stronger revenue, better profitability and a heavier bonus pool, but not a uniform win across every desk.