Goldman Shrugs Off Subprime

If the subprime mortgage meltdown is going to trip up the white-shoe firms on Wall Street, there's no sign of it in Goldman Sachs' (GS Quote) first-quarter numbers.

The New York-based investment bank sailed past the Street's expectations Tuesday morning, ringing up earnings of $3.2 billion, or $6.67 a share, for the quarter ended Feb. 23.

Bank analyst Michael Mayo at Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Equity Group says the results show that "subprime issues did not hurt Goldman, especially since they have never bought a mortgage originator." In that regard, Goldman stands in stark contrast to many of its peers. Morgan Stanley (MS Quote), for instance, acquired mortgage origination firm Saxon Capital in August. ...