Goldman Sachs posted its best profit since the third quarter of 2021, driven by bankers who brought in more fees from dealmaking, debt sales and strength in trading, sending its shares up 3% before the bell.

Goldman Sachs said its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter, boosted by companies’ growing appetite for dealmaking. Profit jumped 105% to $4.11 billion. That amounted to $11.95 per share, which was far better than the $8.

Goldman Sachs drove $14.28 billion of profit in 2024, up 68% from the year earlier, reflecting gains in investment banking and trading. Fourth-quarter per-share earnings of $11.95 handily topped analysts’ estimates of $8.

The fixed-income trading business posted $2.74 billion in revenue, driven by gains in currencies, mortgages and credit products. The stock-trading unit logged $3.45 billion in the quarter. That pushed the full-year haul from that group to $13.4 billion, which amounted to record net revenue, according to Goldman.

Profit rose to $4.11 billion, or $11.95 per diluted share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $2.01 billion, or $5.48 per diluted share, a year ago

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) rose nearly 5% on Wednesday after the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall Street estimates by a wide margin. The bank reported earnings per share (EPS) of $11.