Goldman Sachs on Wednesday posted profit below analysts’ expectations amid write-downs tied to commercial real estate and the sale of its GreenSky lending unit.Here’s what the company reported:Earnings: $3.08 a share vs. $3.18 a share Refinitiv estimateRevenue: $10.9 billion, vs. $10.84 billion estimaterelated investing newsSecond-quarter profit fell 58% to $1.22 billion, or $3.08 a share, on steep declines in trading and investment banking and losses related to GreenSky and legacy investments, which sapped about $3.95 from per share earnings. Revenue fell 8% to $10.9 billion.The company disclosed a $504 million impairment tied to GreenSky and $485 million in real estate writedowns. Those charges flowed through its operating expenses line, which grew 12% to $8.54 billion.Shares of the bank climbed less than 2%.Goldman CEO David Solomon faces a tough environment for his most important businesses as a slump in investment banking and trading activity drags on. On top of that, Goldman had warned investors of write-downs on commercial real estate and impairments tied to its planned sale of fintech unit GreenSky.Unlike more diversified rivals, Goldman gets the majority of its revenue from volatile Wall Street activities, including trading and investment banking. That can lead to outsized returns during boom times and underperformance when markets don’t cooperate.Goldman’s results “reflect the limitations of a business mix that relies more heavily on investment banking and principal investments,” David Fanger of Moody’s Investors Service said in an email. “When client activity remains weak and higher interest rates are pressuring valuations, earnings decline more than at a bank with higher recurring revenues.”Paltry returnsExacerbating the situation, Solomon has spent the past few quarters retrenching from his ill-fated push into consumer banking, which has triggered expenses tied to shrinking the business.The bank put up a paltry 4.4% return on …
