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GS · Forward model · Platform Solutions · Bull case

What has to happen in Platform Solutions

Model as of

This page changes Platform Solutions inside the complete GS model. Every other vertical, corporate programme and valuation assumption stays in the selected portfolio case.

GS forward model
Horizon
Consolidated fair value $1,283.57 all other verticals held in this portfolio case
Final-quarter revenue $59M 0% of company revenue
Explicit segment contribution −$224M EBITDA less segment capex, before corporate items

The flywheel converts: a backlog up against both the first quarter and year-end 2025, an AI capital-expenditure cycle in which the constraint is Goldman's own balance sheet rather than client demand, alternatives fundraising above $125bn, materially higher incentive fees in both remaining quarters, and an expense base that keeps printing operating leverage while headcount falls 2%. What this case does NOT reach is a permanent 25% ROTE: it gets Goldman to about 3.81x tangible book, an all-time-high multiple on a franchise earning first-half-2026 returns, not a re-rating onto a different business. Result: $1,283.57 a share, +23.3%, at a 9.75% cost of equity and a 10.06x exit, which is a 13x P/E on net earnings.

Platform Solutions

Basis quarter$221M
Final quarter$59M
Implied CAGR−23%
Final revenue mix0%

The Apple Card book and the residue of businesses Goldman has exited. $221M of net revenues in the basis quarter against $619M a year earlier, after markdowns on a loan portfolio moved to held-for-sale in 4Q25 and contracted to transition to another issuer over roughly 24 months from December 2025. This is a run-off modelled as a decay, not a business with a growth rate. It is 1.09% of firm revenue and -0.56% of firm pre-tax earnings and cannot move the valuation; it is carried separately because it is a reportable segment.

Last four quarters
2025 Q3 $598M Reported
2025 Q4 −$1.68B Reported
2026 Q1 $411M Reported
2026 Q2 $221M Reported
Apple Card credit cards and associated depositsExited Platform Solutions businesses
Sequential growth 0.0%/qtr decaying toward −10.0% Flat: management guided 2H26 revenue 'broadly consistent with the second quarter'.
Platform Solutions

Latest: $59M (2031Q2E)

Period Value
2023Q1 $489M
2023Q2 $571M
2023Q3 $495M
2023Q4 $503M
2024Q1 $614M
2024Q2 $605M
2024Q3 $318M
2024Q4 $592M
2025Q1 $610M
2025Q2 $619M
2025Q3 $598M
2025Q4 −$1.68B
2026Q1 $411M
2026Q2 $221M
2026Q3E $222M
2026Q4E $220M
2027Q1E $215M
2027Q2E $208M
2027Q3E $199M
2027Q4E $189M
2028Q1E $178M
2028Q2E $166M
2028Q3E $155M
2028Q4E $144M
2029Q1E $133M
2029Q2E $123M
2029Q3E $113M
2029Q4E $103M
2030Q1E $94M
2030Q2E $86M
2030Q3E $79M
2030Q4E $72M
2031Q1E $65M
2031Q2E $59M

Assumptions & reasoning

  • capexIntensity is EXACTLY 0 here and 0.2% on the other two verticals. Basis-quarter revenue is positive at $221M so the negative-revenue rule does not bite today, but 2025 Q4 revenue was MINUS $1,676M and the projected line decays toward zero: a positive intensity on a negative revenue would produce a negative capex, which the engine would add to free cash flow as a phantom inflow.
  • 2025 Q4 is left exactly as reported. Net revenues of -$1,676M came from $2.26B of markdowns on the Apple Card portfolio and contract-termination obligations, alongside a POSITIVE pre-tax result of +$143M because the same filing released $2.48B of loan-loss reserves. Negative revenue with positive pre-tax earnings is what the filing says; it is not a data error.
  • The -21.72% margin is a pre-tax LOSS of $48M on $221M, against $269M of operating expenses and a provision of nil - the Apple Card portfolio moved to held-for-sale, so no provision is taken on it. Terminal 0% assumes the costs leave with the book; a run-off residue should not carry a permanent loss margin.
  • Seasonality is not tested here and must not be applied. The series contains a negative quarter and a structural break, so no ratio to a moving average would be interpretable, and a vertical in run-off carries no calendar shape.
  • One engine artefact worth naming: a negative growth delta on a positive-revenue, negative-margin line makes the loss SMALLER, worth about $5M a quarter in the bear case. It is immaterial and, unlike a negative-revenue residual, needs no offsetting vertical delta.
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