Goldman Sachs earnings: Bank tops profit estimates as dealmaking boom bucks Wall Street trend

Wall Street’s dealmaking boom didn’t slow at Goldman Sachs (GS) in the fourth quarter. Goldman reported net income of $4.6 billion, or $14.01 earnings per share, a 12% increase from the fourth quarter of last year. The outcome far exceeded analyst expectations, which did not include Goldman's deal to pass its Apple (AAPL) credit card portfolio to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) that was disclosed last week. The handoff included a $2.12 billion net benefit reflecting a release of loan loss reserves tied to the port ...