Goldman Sachs announces an overhaul as a quarterly earnings slide

Goldman Sachs reported a 43 percent fall in third-quarter profit as the company overhauled its organizational structure to boost the bank’s stagnant stock market valuation.

Results were better than analysts had expected, while Chief Executive David Solomon confirmed that Goldman would fold its commercial and investment banking businesses into one as it shrinks from four to three divisions.

Goldman reported net income of $3.1 billion, or $8.25 per share, for the third quarter, compared to $5.4 billion, or $14.93 per share, for the same period last year. That was above analyst estimates of $2.9 billion, or $7.75 per share, according to consensus data compiled by Bloomberg, but was still Goldman’s fourth straight quarterly decline.

The bank faces a continued slowdown in investment banking fees and discounts on equity investments in its wealth management division.