Goldman Sachs hits one long, Bear Stearns whiffs

In this environment, you could call Goldman Sachs' 3Q earnings a home run. It posted earnings per share of $6.13. The average earnings estimate was $4.35 per share. Whew! Once again, proprietary trading really shined. It took significant losses on subprime loans and related securities, but, like Lehman, the company's hedges seemed to work, more than offsetting the losses. Also, the investment banking activity remained strong, thanks to the strong equity climate, which swamped the poor credit climate. That might reflect strength earlier in the quarter. You have to think that deals will slow. Still, Goldman remains the envy of the industry. As for Bear Stearns, it reported per-share earnings of $1.16 versus the average estimate of $1.78 per share. Sobering to say the least.  Fixed income revenues plunged nearly 90 percent. Unlike Goldman, it could not fall back on proprietary gains. More news will trickle out on this.

For more:
- here's the Goldman Sachs release 
- here's the Bear Stearns release