GS
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
GS has the edge over WAL overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
WAL
Western Alliance Bancorporation
WAL offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
GS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
GS's revenue and profitability are currently strong. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like GS.
WAL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
WAL's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like WAL.
GS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.6x | $528 | -42% |
| Current | 13x | $914 | — |
| Forward | 13x | $914 | — |
| Fair | 14x | $940 | +2.9% |
| Expensive | 17x | $1,214 | +33% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GS has the edge over WAL in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
WAL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.2x | $65.13 | -12% |
| Forward | 7.2x | $74.39 | — |
| Current | 8.2x | $74.39 | — |
| Fair | 9.4x | $84.88 | +14% |
| Expensive | 13x | $118 | +58% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
WAL's PE is in its cheap range at 8.2x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 7.2x next year's earnings.
GS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for GS, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
WAL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
WAL has the edge over GS on the outlook, with more favorable valuation expectations.
GS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $72.35 | +4% |
| Q3 2026 | $69.58 | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $64.82 | +43% |
| Q1 2026 | $54.75 | +27% |
| Q4 2025 | $51.32 | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $49.22 | +44% |
| Q2 2025 | $45.37 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $43.08 | +68% |
| Q4 2024 | $40.54 | +77% |
GS has the edge over WAL on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
WAL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $10.33 | +14% |
| Q3 2026 | $9.05 | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.88 | +17% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.59 | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.73 | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.08 | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.60 | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.28 | +6.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.09 | +8.4% |
WAL's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $9.05 over the past year, up 12% from the year before, and higher year over year for eight quarters in a row.
GS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.7B | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $20.3B | +39% |
| Q1 2026 | $17.2B | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.5B | -3% |
| Q3 2025 | $15.2B | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.6B | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $15.1B | +6% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.9B | +23% |
GS's revenue is growing: $18.7B last quarter, up 23% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 37% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 42% | +8.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 38% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 44% | +5.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 36% | +4.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 34% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 37% | +0.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 38% | +18 points |
GS has the edge over WAL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
WAL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B | +8.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $995.7M | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $1B | +31% |
| Q4 2025 | $980.9M | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $938.2M | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $845.9M | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $778M | +6.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $838.4M | +23% |
WAL's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $1B last quarter, up 8.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 33% | 0 points |
| Q2 2026 | 33% | -1.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 23% | -9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 36% | +5.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +2.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 34% | +2.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 32% | -0.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 31% | 0 points |
WAL's operating margin was 33% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
GS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7B | +72% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.6B | +7.8% |
| Q1 2026 | -$32.4B | +$5.3B |
| Q4 2025 | -$16.8B | -136% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1B | +$40.6B |
| Q2 2025 | $5.2B | -6.8% |
| Q1 2025 | -$37.7B | -$9.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $46.2B | +$75.1B |
GS's free cash flow was −$40B over the past year, against $15.8B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like GS.
WAL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $769.9M | +$1.4B |
| Q2 2026 | -$356.1M | +$1.6M |
| Q1 2026 | -$507.2M | +$1.1B |
| Q4 2025 | -$69.8M | +$551.9M |
| Q3 2025 | -$597.4M | +$470.6M |
| Q2 2025 | -$357.7M | +$388.1M |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.7B | -$1.3B |
| Q4 2024 | -$621.7M | -282% |
WAL has the edge over GS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
GS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -3.8M shares |
| 1 year | -4.4% | -13.9M shares |
| 3 years | -12% | -42.8M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -52.8M shares |
| Available history | -20% | -74.4M shares |
GS has the edge over WAL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3B |
| Q2 2026 | $4B |
| Q1 2026 | $5B |
| Q4 2025 | $3B |
| Q3 2025 | $2B |
| Q2 2025 | $3B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.4B |
| Q4 2024 | $2B |
GS spent $15B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 32% from the year before.
WAL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -200K shares |
| 1 year | -1.8% | -2M shares |
| 3 years | -0.6% | -700K shares |
| 5 years | +3.8% | +3.9M shares |
| Available history | +4.5% | +4.7M shares |
WAL has 108M diluted shares, down 1.8% from a year ago, with $203M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $93.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $2.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $50.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $57.5M |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
WAL spent $203M buying back its own shares over the past year.
GS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -5.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -6.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -6.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -3.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -3.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -4.7x | Net Cash |
GS has the edge over WAL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
WAL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 4.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 4.9x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 4.8x | High |
WAL's net debt is about 3.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like WAL.
GS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.3 | Oversold |
GS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
WAL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 30.1 | Neutral |
WAL's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 30 (neutral).
GS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | GS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 0.8% above |
| PE % | 46 | 63 | 17 pts below |
GS is trading at 13x earnings, in line with the Financial Services sector's median of 13x, though its earnings don't support one.
WAL PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | WAL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 8.2x | 13x | 37% below |
| PE % | 26 | 63 | 37 pts below |
WAL has the edge over GS on valuation relative to its sector.
GS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $895.5 | 2% above |
| 20 week MA | $977.4 | 6.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $945.4 | 3.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $804.5 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $602.7 | 52% above |
GS has the edge over WAL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
WAL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $75.6 | 1.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $78.7 | 5.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $80.5 | 7.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $80.3 | 7.4% below |
| 200 week MA | $70.1 | 6.2% above |
WAL has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 6.2% above its 200-week average.
GS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $230.7 | $256.2 | +11% |
| 2021 | $256.2 | $385.0 | +50% |
| 2022 | $385.0 | $345.5 | -10% |
| 2023 | $345.5 | $385.8 | +12% |
| 2024 | $385.8 | $576.2 | +49% |
| 2025 | $576.2 | $907.0 | +57% |
| 2026 YTD | $907.0 | $913.6 | +0.7% |
GS has the edge over WAL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
WAL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $57.0 | $59.9 | +5.1% |
| 2021 | $59.9 | $105.7 | +76% |
| 2022 | $105.7 | $58.1 | -45% |
| 2023 | $58.1 | $65.8 | +13% |
| 2024 | $65.8 | $83.7 | +27% |
| 2025 | $83.7 | $86.6 | +3.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $86.6 | $74.4 | -14% |
WAL has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 14% so far in 2026.