In which year did Goldman Sachs first trade as a public company on the NYSE? Goldman Sachs first traded publicly in 1999.
The firm’s initial public offering took place on May 4, 1999, ending a partnership structure that had defined Goldman Sachs for most of its history. The offering sold 69 million shares at $53 each and raised about $3.657 billion. On the first trading day, the stock opened at $76 and closed at $70.375.
Going public gave Goldman Sachs permanent capital for expansion, broadened ownership among employees, and created publicly traded shares that could help finance acquisitions. The decision followed years of debate among the partners; in 1998, Goldman was the last major U.S. investment bank to remain privately held.
A frequent mix-up comes from Goldman Sachs’s earlier connection to the NYSE. The firm joined the exchange in 1896, but that meant membership and participation in the marketplace—not that its own shares were publicly traded. Its listed stock trades under the ticker symbol GS.