Buy Goldman Sachs or BlackRock Stock After Strong Q4 Earnings?

Group 1: Goldman Sachs Performance - Goldman Sachs reported a significant EPS surprise of 48%, with Q4 earnings at $4.11 billion or $11.95 per share, exceeding expectations of $8.07 [2] - Q4 sales for Goldman reached $13.86 billion, which is 13% above estimates of $12.26 billion, and sales increased 22% from $11.31 billion a year ago [3] - For the fiscal year 2024, Goldman's total sales increased by 16% to $53.51 billion, and annual earnings soared over 70% to $14.28 billion or $40.54 per share [7] Group 2: BlackRock Performance - BlackRock's Q4 EPS was $11.93, surpassing expectations of $11.27, with sales of $5.67 billion, which was 2% better than expected [4] - Year-over-year, BlackRock's Q4 earnings and sales increased over 20%, with AUM hitting a record $11.6 trillion due to quarterly net inflows of $281 billion [5][8] - For the fiscal year, BlackRock's total sales rose 14% to $20.41 billion, and annual earnings increased over 15% to $6.37 billion or $43.61 per share [8] Group 3: Market Comparison and Valuation - Over the past year, Goldman's stock has risen by 62%, outperforming BlackRock's 26% gain and the S&P 500's gains [9] - Goldman trades at a forward P/E of 13.9X, which is at a discount compared to BlackRock's 21.2X [11] - Goldman Sachs holds a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy), while BlackRock has a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) [11]