Podcast Summary: “Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon on AI, M&A, and Markets”

Podcast: Exchanges by Goldman Sachs
Host: Alison Nathan
Guest: David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs
Date Recorded: January 20, 2026 (Published January 23, 2026)

Episode Overview

The annual interview with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon provides a comprehensive outlook on the global economic environment for 2026. Major themes include the continued strength of the U.S. economy, policy-driven market stimuli, robust M&A prospects, the disruptive power of AI, and the evolving culture of Goldman Sachs. Solomon shares candid insights on risks, opportunities, and how the firm is deploying technology to advance efficiency and growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Global Macro Environment & Economic Outlook

• U.S. Leading Growth: The macroeconomic setup is “pretty good for risk assets and for markets” (01:15). Fiscal and monetary stimulus, along with deregulatory trends and a boom in AI-related capital investment, position the U.S. for continued strength.

• Midterm Election Dynamic: Coming midterms likely to spur additional policy stimulus, focusing on how average Americans are experiencing economic conditions.

• Caveats: Geopolitical uncertainty (e.g., tensions around Greenland, tariffs in Europe) remains a risk factor for episodic drawdowns (02:38).

  “We have a huge capital investment boom because of AI infrastructure. So you put those things together and we're coming into a midterm election... My guess is you’ll get some stimulative actions that are pointed to the midterm elections.” — David Solomon [02:13]

2. Comparing U.S., Europe, and Asia

• U.S. Structural Advantages: Superior growth trends driven by tech, capital markets, and financial system advantages (03:38).

• Europe: Structural underperformance with <1% trend growth and slow regulatory reform—a mere 11% of the Draghi plan implemented (04:23).

• China: Recovering from a hard bottom, with equity markets rebounding, but economic sluggishness persists and U.S.-China relations remain a wildcard.

  “The U.S. has enormous advantage in the tech investment infrastructure and the innovation economy... Our capital markets, our banking system, our financial system—they’re just better than anywhere else in the world.” — David Solomon [04:53]

3. CEO and Corporate Sentiment

• Davos Preview: CEOs are increasingly optimistic, especially about regulatory conditions for M&A, but seek less policy “noise” for greater stability (05:44).

• Deal Confidence: Activity is robust. Barring a major exogenous shock, 2026 could be “one of the best M&A years ever” (07:00).

  “If there's stability, CEOs get very optimistic and very forward looking. When there's noise and uncertainty, they're more cautious.” — David Solomon [06:16]

4. M&A, IPOs, and Private Equity

• M&A Surge: Backlogs and client dialogues convey a record-setting outlook for dealmaking in 2026, unless sentiment is shaken by external shocks (07:00).
• IPO Activity: Improving, with more private equity portfolios hitting the public markets. Not a record year, but a “continued trend of improvement” (07:35).

5. Artificial Intelligence: Market Driver and Productivity Force

• AI Investment Momentum: Capital deployment and technology innovation are accelerating, with Solomon characterizing the opportunity set as “expanding, not contracting” (08:29).

• Productivity and Labor: While AI disrupts jobs, Solomon downplays apocalyptic scenarios, framing technology as a historical driver of labor market transformation.

  “I’m not in the job apocalypse camp… Technology has been disrupting jobs… for decades and decades and decades. And it’s no different this time.” — David Solomon [09:42]

  Notably, labor market dislocation may be faster, but historical resilience and job creation are likely to prevail in the long term (10:20).

6. AI at Goldman Sachs: The ONEGS 3.0 Initiative

• Process Revamp: ONEGS 3.0 focuses on reimagining six firmwide processes—like onboarding and KYC—with automation and AI, seeking gains in efficiency, client, and employee experience (11:30).

• Change Management: The greatest challenge is not introducing AI tools, but “completely remaking the processes”—altering how human capital is applied (13:02).

  “What we're actually doing in ONEGS 3.0 is... focused on reimagining six processes in the firm that we think can really benefit from a fresh kind of white paper look… because the technology that exists today allows us to do them a different way.” — David Solomon [11:32]

7. Goldman Sachs’ Strategic Evolution and Culture

• Business Realignment: Over eight years, the firm exited digital consumer banking, doubled down on core strengths, grew revenues ~65%, and market cap more than quadrupled (14:04).

• Culture and Values: Foundational values (client service, partnership, integrity, excellence) remain unchanged, even as the firm becomes more collaborative and less siloed due to initiatives like ONEGS (16:57).

  “The secret sauce for Goldman Sachs is our people, our talent, our culture...” — David Solomon [15:36]
  “There is much less collaborative friction in the firm.” — David Solomon [17:23]

8. Risks & Final Reflections

• Ongoing Risks: Major threats are unforeseen “exogenous events”—geopolitics, cyberattacks, pandemics—not economic fundamentals (18:29).

• Optimism: Solomon ends on a constructive note about technology, productivity, and opportunities ahead.

  “I think what's going on in the world with technology, the productivity opportunity… There's so many things to be optimistic about.” — David Solomon [19:15]

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Macro Outlook:
  “The macro setup is pretty good for risk assets and for markets.” — David Solomon [01:15]
• On Regulatory Environment:
  “For the last four years, hey, is this possible? The answer is no. Didn’t matter what the question was, the answer was no. So I think CEOs are quite constructive.” — David Solomon [05:53]
• On AI and Productivity:
  “The technology is moving quickly. The power of it’s moving quickly. It’s powerful technology, it’s very disruptive and it’s very good for productivity.” — David Solomon [08:43]
• On Change Management:
  “Changing processes in a big enterprise is hard work and it’s going to take some time.” — David Solomon [12:37]
• On Firm Performance:
  “We’ve taken the revenues up 60, 65% to about $60 billion. And we’ve taken the earnings up 120%.” — David Solomon [14:41]
• On Uncertainty & Optimism:
  “The things that worry me are the big exogenous events that you can never see coming and you really can’t control. … I have to end on a more optimistic note. … I think it’s an exciting time to be in our business and to be an investor.” — David Solomon [18:29–19:41]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------|------------| | Global Macro Outlook | 00:49–03:27| | U.S., Europe, and China Comparison | 03:27–05:36| | CEO Sentiment and Davos Preview | 05:36–06:48| | M&A and IPO Outlook | 06:48–08:15| | AI as a Market Driver & Productivity | 08:15–09:42| | AI, Labor Markets, and Job Disruption | 09:42–11:19| | ONEGS 3.0 Initiative and Challenges | 11:19–13:42| | Firm Strategy, Results & Culture | 13:45–18:17| | Risks, Closing Reflections | 18:17–19:41|

Conclusion

This episode delivers a candid, forward-looking assessment of the global economy and markets, underlining continued U.S. leadership, persistent dealmaking momentum, and the transformative promise of AI from both a market and operational perspective. Solomon is frank about persistent risks but concludes with clear optimism about the opportunities emerging from technology-driven productivity—echoing the firm’s belief in both dynamic adaptation and unchanging core values.