Goldman Sachs management check
GS · Financials · Investment Banking & Brokerage · CEO David M Solomon
Filings as of
6 good · 1 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $375, against $203 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.95 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.7% of net income$118.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $17.2bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.1 years of payThe CEO holds 138,422 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.1 years of pay. 5 insiders sold $34.6m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -4.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
2 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. Solomon. 2 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2025.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Financials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 97 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 63 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | 17 | 51 | |
| Dilution | 100 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 100 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Investment Banking & Brokerage, by management score. Goldman Sachs is 10th of 72 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 20, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Solomon | $118.9m | $309.8m | $45.9m | $375 | $203 | $17.2bn |
| 2024 | — | $31.3m | $120.0m | $20.9m | $240 | $176 | $14.3bn |
| 2023 | — | $27.0m | $12.7m | $18.1m | $158 | $135 | $8.5bn |
| 2022 | — | $32.2m | $27.3m | $22.8m | $136 | $121 | $11.3bn |
| 2021 | — | $40.7m | $97.4m | $21.5m | $148 | $135 | $21.6bn |
The board says pay is tied most to ROE. Its other key measures: ROTE, Efficiency Ratio.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
David M Solomon (Chairman of the Board and CEO) held 138,422 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on May 1, 2026, roughly $128.9m at that filing's price.
5 insiders sold $34.6m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldKathryn H. RuemmlerChief Legal Officer, GC$14.1mMay 6, 2026
- SoldSheara J FredmanChief Accounting Officer$9.6mMay 1, 2026
- SoldDenis P. ColemanChief Financial Officer$6.7mMay 14, 2026
- SoldDavid M SolomonChairman of the Board and CEO$3.2mMay 1, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Mar 13, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 13, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 1, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $55.2bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 76% of net income, and $14.6bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net income | $21.6bn | $11.3bn | $8.5bn | $14.3bn | $17.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $2.3bn | $4.1bn | $2.1bn | $2.7bn | $3.4bn |
| Buybacks | $5.2bn | $3.5bn | $5.8bn | $8.0bn | $12.4bn |
| Dividends | $2.7bn | $3.7bn | $4.2bn | $4.5bn | $5.3bn |
| Diluted shares | 356m | 358m | 346m | 334m | 318m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.