Goldman Sachs beats despite trading woes (GS)

Goldman Sachs is expected to release results from its fourth-quarter at around 7:30 am Wednesday.

Wall Street analysts are expecting the firm to report adjusted earnings of $4.90 a share.

Like the other big banks, Goldman Sachs is expected to take a hit from the recently passed tax law, thanks to a combination of taxes on repatriated cash and deferred tax assets that declined in value.

JPMorgan reported a $2.4 billion fourth-quarter loss because of the new tax law, and Citigroup reported a $22 billion loss. The CEOs of each firm nonetheless praised the potential long-term benefits of the law.

Analysts expect Goldman Sachs to report non-adjusted earnings of -$6.05 a share after accounting for the effects of the tax law and other one-time gains and costs.

Here’s what else Wall Street will be looking for:

• Revenues of $7.6 billion
• Adjusted net income of $1.96 billion
• Non-adjusted net income of -$2.35 billion
• The FICC business: Goldman Sachs’ commodities business had a terrible time of it in 2017, and the broader business struggled too.

One last item to be on the lookout for: Any losses related to scandal-wracked South African retailer Steinhoff International.

A group of Wall Street banks loaned money last year to an entity controlled by Christo Wiese, the former chairman of Steinhoff International, whose stock has been ravaged by an accounting scandal.

Citi, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura initially arranged the $1.8 billion loan, backed by some 628 million shares of Steinhoff’s now-crippled stock, and subsequently sold off parts of the loan to other banks.

JPMorgan reported a$273 million hit to its fourth-quarter earnings from the deal.

Though Citi didn’t name the single client responsible for a $130 million wipeout in in its equities-trading revenue, it’s also likely attributable to Steinhoff.

Other banks, including Goldman Sachs, are expected to have exposure to Steinhoff as well.

Get the latest Goldman Sachs stock price here.