Investment banking fees padded the profits of Wall Street banks in the third quarter like a bed full of thousand-dollar eiderdown pillows.

The rebound in mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings so far this year was a big reason why. And, in the contest to capture the unleashed activity, one firm stood tall above all others as if at the top of a financial Olympic podium: Goldman Sachs. There’s more than one reason they didn’t name it Silverman.

The Cost of Your Investment Bankers Doing Business

Thread together buoyant equity markets, long-awaited interest-rate cuts and an administration in Washington committed to lighter regulations and you have a red carpet ready to roll out for a dealmaking revival. That has emerged as one of the key economic stories of 2025, with both mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings rebounding after a years-long slump.

Tuesday showed just how Goldman and other banks, which earn fees from advising on and underwriting deals, are benefiting from a period where private equity megadeals, in particular, have taken center stage. There’s the unprecedented $55 billion buyout of video game maker Electronic Arts by a consortium including the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Thoma Bravo’s $10.6 billion acquisition of Boeing’s digital aviation unit, and Blackstone’s $11.5 billion acquisition of utility TXNM Energy, to name just three. Multiple quarterly reports released Tuesday showed the victory spoils divided among Wall Street firms, but Goldman’s investment bankers appear to have drummed up the most business from the rebound:

• The bank reported on Tuesday that it generated $2.6 billion in investment banking fees during the third quarter, a 42% year-over-year increase. That represented a significant percentage jump next to comparable earnings at rivals: investment banking fees rose 16% at JPMorgan Chase to $2.6 billion, 17% at Citigroup to $1.2 billion, and 25% at Wells Fargo to $840 million.
• Heavy is the head that wears the crown, however, as Goldman’s operating costs rose 14%, buoyed by rising compensation costs. Even as it’s on track for its best investment banking year on record, Goldman is therefore still eyeing efficiencies: The Wall Street Journal reported on plans to lay off roughly 1,000 low performers and use AI to help perform certain roles, although Goldman plans to end the year with a net increase in headcount.

Shares in Goldman, which reported a 37% increase in third-quarter profit to $4.1 billion, fell 2% Tuesday in a volatile session dominated by concerns over a renewed US-China trade standoff. However, the stock is up 34% this year and has outperformed most rivals, including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Bank of America (the latter of which reports today).

Dodged a Bullet: Goldman reported a mild credit loss provision of $339 million, less than analysts expected and far less than JPMorgan’s $3.4 billion. The Goldman rival was hit by an exposure to Tricolor, the US car dealer that collapsed last month. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on a media call that it wasn’t his bank’s “finest moment” but warned there are other exposures on the private market that won’t turn out well: “When you see one cockroach, there’s probably more.”

Big(ger) Timber. Much bigger timber.

On Tuesday, timberland giant Rayonier announced it would acquire fellow industry heavyweight PotlatchDeltic in an all-stock deal that values the combined company at $7.1 billion, or $8.2 billion including debt. The marriage, billed as a merger of equals, builds one of the largest lumber companies in the US and comes on the exact same day as a new round of lumber tariffs.

Timber!!

So far, 2025 has been one of the choppiest years ever for the business of wood. Weighing on one side of the whipsaw: tariffs and broader trade war uncertainty. Prices have generally risen and fallen due to the on-again, off-again nature of import duties on Canadian wood. On the other side: crashing demand, as sustained high-interest rates kept the housing market petrified in amber; in fact, the cost of two-by-four wood planks was one of the first assets to experience significant price inflation amid the pandemic, and one of the first to see significant price declines amid the Federal Reserve’s subsequent rate-hiking campaign.

In September, just ahead of the Fed’s first rate cut this year, lumber futures had plummeted 24% from a three-year high in August to the lowest level in seven months. In a letter to the White House, the US Lumber Coalition described “the worst market conditions” its members have ever seen. On Tuesday, a new batch of tariffs is hitting imported lumber and wood products. The tariffs are expected to rock Canada’s lumber industry, with softwood lumber now under an effective rate of 45%. For Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic, which both operate as REITs, the protectionism could help bolster a nationwide wood empire:

• Together, the two companies will own 4.2 million acres of timberland across 11 states, as well as seven wood product manufacturing sites and six lumber mills. The merger will create “significant strategic and financial benefits beyond what either of us could achieve independently,” PotlatchDeltic CEO Eric Cremers said on a conference call Tuesday.
• That places its timberland reach in the US as second only to Weyerhaeuser, the largest private landowner in the country, with control of over 10 million acres.

Where The Sun Does Shine: Lumber isn’t the only renewable resource coveted by both companies. Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic have also each leased tens of thousands of acres of land to solar farm developers, with the deals at rates likely to be 10 times more profitable than for growing pine trees, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Here’s how one company took advantage of the domino effect in real time: Trade wars and economic uncertainty triggered a consumer pullback, a consumer pullback triggered fast-food industry competition on price, competition on price is triggering an overhaul of Domino’s discounts and deals, and Domino’s discounts and deals are leading to more customers.

In its third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, Domino’s Pizza announced stellar results, with revenue rising more than 6% year-over-year and same-store sales increasing more than 5%. Key to its success? Deals, deals, deals.

Slice of Life

The fast-food industry’s value wars have been going on for a while now, and Domino’s has heard the call of duty loud and clear. In August, the company revived its “Best Deal Ever” promotion, offering a large pizza with any toppings for just $9.99, while continuing other promotions such as occasional “Boost Weeks,” which knock 50% off the price of some menu items, and an occasional $6.99 carryout deal for any large two-topping pizza.

“We ended up doing ‘Best Deal Ever’ longer than we expected because our franchisees called us and told us that it was driving business in their stores,” CEO Russell Weiner said during the earnings call on Tuesday. The company also credited menu innovation, such as the launch of its Parmesan Stuffed Crust Pizza, as well as its first full quarter featuring a partnership with DoorDash, as keys to its success. That success may be the envy of the industry:

• The company reported $139 million in net income in the most recent quarter on revenue of nearly $4.7 billion. That’s up from $131 million in the second quarter, though down 5% year-over-year, which the company pegged to unrealized losses associated with its investment in DPC Dash, the entity that runs its franchises in China.
• Still, the combination of profitability and slashing prices isn’t easy. McDonald’s, for instance, has practically met with civil war as franchise owners push back against corporate mandates for low-margin discount offers. “We can have sustained value that’s profitable, unlike other folks who are probably spending away their balance sheet to keep up,” Weiner said on Tuesday.

Frozen In Time: Now for the more important question: Are pizza takeout sales a recession indicator? No, but frozen pizza sales might be. In the first quarter, Domino’s suffered declining same-store sales in the US, as low-income consumers abandoned the chain amid heightened economic uncertainty at the start of the trade war. Which means the chain’s third-quarter success may be another reason for macroeconomic optimism (though we certainly won’t discount the idea that it’s the result of everyone eating their anxiety, either).