Goldman Sachs’ Top Bosses Are in Line for $500 Million in Special Stock Awards
Goldman Sachs awarded performance stock to its top executives back in 2021, and three years of share price gains have quietly turned those grants into something much larger than anyone publicly discussed at the time.
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When Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS | GS Price Prediction) announced its special stock award plan in 2021, chief executive David Solomon’s share was worth about $30 million. At the October 8, 2026 close of $882.59, the same award is valued at about $100 million, a change driven entirely by the share price.
About 20 executives are in line for more than $500 million in total. Performance is measured at the end of October 2026, so the final value can still change.
The stock fell 0.64% on October 8. Pay this large gets scrutiny, but the evidence suggests the plan worked as designed.
Units Granted in 2021 Set the Payout, and the Share Price Did the Rest
These are Shareholder Value Creation awards. Goldman granted them to Solomon and president John Waldron in October 2021 and to other management committee members in January 2022.
They are performance share units. Each executive received a fixed number of units, and those units are worth whatever the stock and the performance formula say they are worth when performance is measured. Solomon received 73,264 units, and Waldron received 48,843. Both grants used a reference price of $409.48.
Half the payout depends on Goldman’s total shareholder return, which means price gains plus dividends. The other half compares that return with a peer group of large U.S. banks, capped at 150% of target. Goldman has disclosed the units, the formula, and the cap.
Why the Payout Barely Dents Goldman’s Profits
Goldman made $6.63 billion in net income in the second quarter of 2026 alone. Revenue for that quarter was a record $20.34 billion. Compared with those figures, a one-time payout spread across about 20 people is a small cost.
In the same quarter, the firm returned $5.36 billion to common shareholders. The awards are unlikely to limit that capacity going forward.
In 2025, only about 66% of votes approved Goldman’s executive pay, weak support for a large company. Both major proxy advisors opposed the retention awards, which gave Solomon and Waldron $80 million each in January 2025 and vest in 2030.
Solomon’s total pay for 2025 was $47 million. Add the retention award and this payout, and his total exposure rises well above his annual pay. A stock that gained about 180% over three years clears almost any return hurdle. The peer comparison against Goldman’s largest competitors will likely determine how much of the payout above target Solomon actually gets.
What the Pay Plan Means for GS Shareholders
Executive pay rose because the stock rose, which is what the plan was built to reward. The cost is small next to Goldman’s earnings, though the weak say-on-pay vote shows investors will push back harder on future awards.
Shares trade about 23.5% below the 52-week high of $1,153.99. TD Cowen just started covering the stock with a Buy rating and a $1,050 price target.
Goldman reports third-quarter results before the market opens on October 13, 2026. Analysts’ average estimates range from about $13.30 to $15.40 per share. The firm has beaten estimates for 6 consecutive quarters.
This view is wrong if third-quarter earnings come in below $13.30 per share. A result that low would suggest the dealmaking surge behind the stock’s run is fading. Goldman’s next proxy statement will show the final payout, and that number will tell you whether the board’s pay discipline matches its profits.
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Omor Ibne Ehsan is a writer at 24/7 Wall St. He is a self-taught investor with a focus on growth, cyclical, and dividend equities that have strong fundamentals, value, and long-term potential. He also has an interest in high-risk, high-reward investments such as penny stocks.
