Goldman Beats Estimates, Will Issue Equity

Updated from 5:27 p.m. EDT

Goldman Sachs (GS) on late Monday beat analyst estimates in the first quarter, as it said it will issue $5 billion in common equity to pay back federal bailout funds.

Goldman, which had been expected to report earnings Tuesday morning, said it earned $3.39 per share, beating the Thomson Reuters average estimate of $1.67. The company reported net revenue of $9.43 billion, also easily outpacing the $7.19 billion expected by analysts.

Goldman shares initially jumped in aftermarket trading, but more recently were trading down 1.7% to $127.91. It closed trading in Monday's regular session up 4.7% to $130.15.

Goldman said it will issue $5 billion in equity, which it will combine with "additional resources" to repay the government's $10 billion investment made through the Troubled Assets Relief Program in October. Goldman noted it will pay back the funds "if permitted by our supervisors and if supported by the results of the stress assessment."

The government's TARP investment came just weeks after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) made a $5 billion preferred equity investment in Goldman paying a 10% dividend.

The largest segment of Goldman's revenues came from "trading and principal investments" in its fixed-income currencies and commodities division.

Goldman also touted a slightly higher capital ratio than it had at the end of its fourth quarter last year, using updated international capital requirements known as Basel II. Goldman also says its "global core excess liquidity" has improved to $163.74 billion from $111.43 billion at the end of last year. This effectively means that it claims to have a much bigger cash pile than it did before, in case its trading partners should get nervous.