Jan 15 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' ( GS ) profit rose in

the fourth quarter, fueled by dealmaking, stronger trading

revenues in a turbulent market and a one-time gain from exiting

its credit card partnership with Apple.

The bank's equity traders capitalized on volatility and a

broader rally in the U.S. market ‌as investors speculated on the

Federal Reserve's interest-rate path and the prospects for AI

companies.

Goldman's equity revenue rose ​to $4.31 billion, up from

$3.45 billion a year ago, while trading revenue for ‍fixed

income, currencies, and commodities climbed 12.5% to $3.11

billion.

The bank struck ⁠a deal with JPMorgan ⁠Chase to take over its

Apple card partnership. Goldman expected a 46 cent per share

increase in ‌its results due to the exit.

Its profit ​attributable to common shareholders rose to $4.38

billion in the fourth quarter, or $14.01 per share, compared

with $3.92 billion, or $11.95 per share, a year ⁠earlier.

UNWINDING CONSUMER BUSINESS

Shedding the Apple card ‍is Goldman's ​latest big step away

from its ill-fated consumer business. The exit comes as other

lenders are expressing concerns about U.S. President Donald

Trump's proposal to cap ‍credit card interest rates at 10%.

Goldman's earnings also got a lift from the release of $2.48

billion from its stockpiles to cover loan losses from the card.

Morningstar estimated the bank would gain $145 million from the

transaction.

STRONG M&A MARKET

A friendlier regulatory environment under President Trump,

lower interest rates and excess cash have led ​companies ‍to

pursue more deals.

Goldman's fees from investment banking rose 25% to $2.58

billion versus a year ago.

The investment bank advised on some large mergers in ​2025,

including the $56.5 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts

and Alphabet's $32 billion acquisition of cloud security firm

Wiz.

These outsized deals helped it secure the top spot once

again for global M&A in 2025, with the bank advising on $1.48

trillion in total volume of deals and raking in $4.6 billion in

fees.

Top dealmakers expect the rally in mergers - which climbed

near record levels ​in 2025 - to continue this year as large AI

investments fuel more tech deals.

Global M&A volumes swelled to $5.1 trillion in 2025, up 42%

from 2024, according to Dealogic data.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in ‍Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in

New York; Editing by Lananh Nguyen and Arun Koyyur)