- About 20 senior Goldman Sachs executives are set to unlock more than $500 million in special equity awards tied to a five-year performance period that began in 2021.
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is preparing to finalize more than $500 million in special equity awards for roughly 20 senior executives, with Chief Executive David Solomon in line to receive more than $100 million, according to reporting on the Goldman Sachs awards.
The awards were originally granted in October 2021 and are expected to be finalized later this month. The value of the payout has increased substantially with Goldman Sachs' share price and the performance of the awards against their predetermined targets.
The development comes as Goldman prepares to report third-quarter results on Oct. 13, adding another major earnings event to an already strong year for the investment bank.
Goldman’s $500 Million Awards Were Built Around Shareholder Returns
The special compensation is not part of Goldman Sachs' normal annual bonus program. The awards, known as Shareholder Value Creation Awards, were designed as a longer-term incentive for senior executives and began with a five-year performance period on Oct. 21, 2021.
Goldman's proxy filings show that the awards are based equally on absolute total shareholder return and relative total shareholder return. The relative measure compares Goldman with a group of US banking peers that includes Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).
The original grants included $30 million for Solomon and $20 million for President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron, based on grant-date values. Other members of senior management received awards later, with the broader program covering additional executives.
The awards were structured to be paid entirely in Goldman Sachs common stock rather than cash. Shares delivered under the program are also subject to restrictions and potential clawbacks under certain circumstances.
Goldman's stock performance has helped drive the value of the awards. The bank's 2026 proxy statement shows that its stock closed 2025 at $879, while the original awards were established when Goldman shares were trading near $409.48 based on the five-day average used for the initial conversion.
That long-term stock appreciation is a central reason the awards can now be worth considerably more than their original grant values.
Goldman’s Strong Results Help Explain the Payout
Goldman's financial performance has also improved materially over the period covered by the awards. The bank reported $58.28 billion in net revenue and $17.18 billion in net earnings for 2025. Return on average common shareholders' equity reached 15%, compared with 12.7% in 2024. Goldman also said its total shareholder return had exceeded 340% since the strategy was unveiled at its 2020 Investor Day, the strongest performance among its peer group over that period.
Performance continued into 2026. Goldman reported $20.34 billion in second-quarter revenue and $6.63 billion in net earnings, while annualized return on equity reached 23.5%. The results provide context for the size of the pending awards without establishing that any individual executive personally generated a specific amount of shareholder value. The award formula itself determines how much of each executive's potential payout is ultimately earned.
Goldman has also remained active across investment banking and capital markets. The bank was recently overtaken by Citigroup in global IPO underwriting through September, although Goldman continued to lead the broader equity-offering market, according to recent data on the global IPO market.
The broader Wall Street environment has been favorable as well. US securities firms generated $45.9 billion in pretax profits during the first half of 2026, putting the industry on pace for more than $90 billion for the full year, according to data cited in recent Wall Street profit figures.
Goldman's own strategy has benefited from strong markets and activity across its Global Banking & Markets and Asset & Wealth Management businesses. Its outlook has also remained closely tied to corporate dealmaking, equity markets and the continued strength of the US stock market.
The pending awards therefore represent the conclusion of a compensation plan established five years ago rather than a newly created bonus pool. The final amount will depend on the performance measures specified when the awards were granted, while the current share price determines the market value attached to the equity being delivered.
With the five-year period now reaching its conclusion, Goldman executives are set to collect one of the firm's largest long-term performance awards, led by a payout of more than $100 million for Solomon.