It is early 2026, and if you walked into the 200 West Street headquarters of Goldman Sachs today, you’d find a firm that looks remarkably different than it did just two or three years ago. The headphones are mostly off. The "Marcus" signs have been taken down. The vibes? Well, they’re complicated.
David Solomon, the man at the center of it all, has spent the last year performing one of the most aggressive "back to basics" pivots in Wall Street history. Honestly, if you only followed the headlines in 2023 or 2024, you’d think the guy was on his way out. There were leaks from disgruntled partners. There was the constant, almost obsessive media coverage of his side gig as DJ D-Sol. People were literally counting the minutes he spent behind a turntable instead of a Bloomberg terminal.
But here’s the thing about David Solomon and Goldman Sachs: he’s still there. And the bank is making a lot of money.
The Great Retreat: Why Marcus Had to Die
Let’s be real—the attempt to turn Goldman Sachs into a bank for "regular people" was a bit of a disaster. It was called Marcus, and the idea was to compete with the likes of Chase or Citibank by offering high-yield savings and personal loans.
It didn't work. The firm basically lost billions trying to acquire customers. By late 2025, Solomon finally pulled the plug on the Apple credit card partnership, which was transitioned over to JPMorgan Chase. It was a humbling moment. Solomon recently admitted in a podcast with Sequoia Capital that "partnerships with giants usually fail unless incentives and governance are airtight."
Basically, Goldman realized it’s better at being a "Viking ship" for the ultra-wealthy than a "supermarket" for the masses. This retreat wasn't just about saving face; it was about survival in a high-interest-rate world. By the time 180°C (metaphorically speaking) heat was applied by the board, Solomon had pivoted the firm back to its core:
- Investment Banking: Still the crown jewel.
- Trading (FICC and Equities): Where they still dominate.
- Asset & Wealth Management: The new "stable" growth engine.
The "DJ D-Sol" Noise vs. Reality
You've probably heard about the DJing. It’s the easiest thing to make fun of. A CEO in his 60s playing electronic dance music at Lollapalooza while his junior analysts are working 100-hour weeks? It was a PR nightmare.
By late 2023, Solomon officially "hung up the headphones" for public gigs. He realized that even if the music wasn't a distraction to him, it was a massive distraction to the firm. It was a rare moment of public concession. He’s much more of a "shut up and work" leader now.
But don't mistake that for being soft. Solomon is famously "strident," a word he’s used himself. He pushed for a 5-day-a-week return-to-office (RTO) policy long before most other CEOs had the guts to do it. He doesn't believe in "the policy" so much as he believes in the "presence." If you want the Goldman paycheck, you've gotta be in the Goldman chair.
The New Frontier: Prediction Markets and AI
So, what is David Solomon actually doing in 2026?
He’s betting on things that sound like science fiction but are becoming very real, very fast. In the Q4 2025 earnings call (held in January 2026), Solomon dropped a bombshell: Goldman is moving into prediction markets.
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We're talking about platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Instead of just betting on whether the Fed will cut rates, Solomon wants to treat these as "derivative contract activities." It’s a total shift. While everyone else sees these as "betting sites," Solomon sees them as a way to commoditize information.
Then there’s AI. He’s not just talking about chatbots. He told TIME in late 2025 that he's "incredibly bullish" on the infrastructure of AI. Goldman is looking at the $400 billion being spent by big tech on data centers and trying to find a way to finance every single brick.
The Numbers Nobody Can Ignore
Despite the cultural friction, the financial results for the first few quarters of 2025 were staggering.
- EPS (Earnings Per Share): Hit $14.12 in Q1 2025.
- ROE (Return on Equity): Reached 16.9%.
For context, a 15% ROE is usually considered the "gold standard" for a bank of this size. Solomon is hitting those numbers by cutting the fat—specifically the consumer banking units that were bleeding cash.
Why People Still Grumble
If the bank is so profitable, why the drama?
Goldman Sachs isn't just a company; it's a partnership. And in a partnership, everyone wants a say. Solomon’s leadership style is more "corporate CEO" and less "first among equals." He’s centralized power in a way that makes the old guard uncomfortable.
He’s also been ruthless about headcount. While he says AI might not replace everyone, he’s admitted it creates "downward pressure" on hiring. The days of 2,500 new analysts every year might be thinning out as the firm becomes more "productive on a revenue-per-employee basis."
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that David Solomon is a "failed" CEO because of the Marcus debacle or the DJing controversy.
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In reality, his tenure has seen Goldman’s stock price significantly outperform many of its peers. He’s successfully navigated a trade war, a pandemic, a retail banking failure, and a near-mutiny by his partners. He’s a survivor.
He’s also more self-reflective than he gets credit for. He’s gone on record saying he’s "much better at listening at 60 than at 40." Whether his partners agree is another story, but the results speak for themselves.
Actionable Insights for Investors and Professionals
If you’re watching David Solomon and Goldman Sachs to understand where the market is going, here are the three things you need to pay attention to:
- Watch the Prediction Market Integration: If Goldman starts offering "Event-Linked Notes," it means the line between gambling and hedging has officially disappeared. This will change how volatility is traded.
- Asset Management is the Metric: Don't just look at trading revenue. Look at their "Management and other fees" in the Asset & Wealth Management segment. That’s where the "new" Goldman is building its fortress.
- The AI Infrastructure Play: Solomon isn't betting on the software; he’s betting on the "power and cooling." Watch for Goldman to lead massive debt deals for energy and data center construction in the coming year.
The "David Solomon" era of Goldman Sachs is no longer about trying to be everything to everyone. It’s about being the most efficient, most aggressive investment bank on the planet. He might not be the most liked guy in the room, but in the world of high finance, being right is usually better than being liked.
Stay focused on the ROE. The rest is just noise.