Goldman Sachs Q4 Profit Plunges 53%, Results Anticipated

The poor fourth quarter results of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) were anticipated, but that hasn't stopped the stock price being pressured today in trading.

Goldman was trading at $169.92, losing $4.76, or 2.72 percent, as of 10:40 AM EST.

What was more disappointing than expected was the revenue generated by Goldman in the quarter, which dropped from $9.6 billion last year in the same quarter to $8.6 billion this year. The Street was looking for $9 billion in revenue.

Earnings for the quarter came in at $2.4 billion, or $3.79 a share, falling from $4.9 billion, or $8.20 a share last year. That was in line with what analysts had projected.

As with some of their peers, investment banking dropped significantly in the quarter, 10 percent below last year, generating $1.51 billion. For the year investment banking revenue was down 3 percent.

Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said that while last year was a difficult one for the company, they are "seeing signs of growth and more economic activity."