Goldman Sachs looks to cash in on big IPOs twice. Anthropic’s historic deal is its next chance
Goldman Sachs is not content with just raking in lucrative investment banking fees from blockbuster IPOs. It also wants a shot at managing the billions of dollars in new wealth that these deals create. It’s not the only bank looking to double dip. Anthropic’s initial public offering next week is Goldman’s latest chance to put this strategy into action. The Claude creator is set to make its stock market debut on Thursday, with Goldman and Morgan Stanley co-leading the initial public offering. They are tasked with coordinating the other 20 underwriters on the deal, helping set the offer price, and marketing shares to investors. The fee haul is substantial. But the real opening comes from leveraging the cachet that comes with securing this second massive IPO after Elon Musk’s SpaceX to get future deals and to feed another part of the business that matters to the long-term bull case. A successful Anthropic IPO, which by all accounts looks likely, would act as a ballast to the precarious moment in the AI trade, Jim Cramer has said. Stocks tied to the data center buildout have faced weeks of selling pressure amid growing political opposition following the Democratic wave in last week’s midterm elections . On top of that, Jensen Huang’s resignation Thursday as Nvidia CEO in the fallout of an affair scandal dealt another blow to investor confidence, making Anthropic’s IPO even more of a litmus test of investor appetite for the sector. The AI boom has created a windfall for banks like Goldman — benefiting both its trading desks as hedge funds bet on the action, and through rising capital-markets activity — so its continued survival matters to the stock. While significant, Goldman’s fees from the Anthropic offering are actually unlikely to move the needle on its earnings. In a note to clients this week, Evercore ISI analyst Glenn Schorr estimated that Anthropic’s IPO could generate roughly $395 million in total underwriting fees. Schorr used the June SpaceX offering as a benchmark because Goldman and Morgan Stanley were also at the top of the ticket on that one. Under his base-case scenario, Schorr said the two banks could each collect approximately $79 million, assuming a 20% share of the fee pool. However, Schorr said the bigger potential windfall for investment banks like Goldman from these high-profile offerings extends “well north of just the IPO fee.” The Anthropic deal, which could raise $64.35 billion as of the latest filing, would provide a big payday for the AI company’s founders, executives, and employees — giving Goldman the chance to convert them into long-term wealth management clients. Anthropic is currently expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq next Thursday. The debut will cap months of intense speculation about when the fast-growing startup would join the public-market fray. It had been viewed as a race between Anthropic and rival OpenAI until September, when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the ChatGPT creator would wait until at least next year, citing AI safety concerns. Anthropic marched on and released its IPO prospectus in late October, which officially revealed Goldman’s coveted involvement in the deal. In response, Jim recommended buying the bank’s stock. The Investing Club added to our Goldman position on Nov. 5. Leveraging IPO-generated new wealth Like many banks, Goldman is looking to generate more predictable revenue from wealth management, rather than relying as heavily on cyclical income from dealmaking and trading. Investors are typically willing to pay a higher multiple for more steady and recurring earnings streams, so the growth of the wealth business has implications for Goldman’s future stock returns. Its “One Goldman Sachs” strategy aims to capitalize on relationships across the bank to drive that growth. “We see a significant opportunity as founders and executives navigate major liquidity events,” a Goldman spokesperson told CNBC. “When executives partner with us on an IPO, financing, or M & A transaction, wealth planning is a natural extension of that advisory relationship.” Goldman did not specifically comment on Anthropic’s deal. But with more AI companies potentially headed for the public markets, this approach could work well going forward. While Goldman faces stiff competition from other banks trying to do the same thing, it does have a strong track record of attracting new wealth management customers from lucrative IPOs. JPMorgan , Citigroup , and Bank of America are also listed as underwriters, and all have formidable wealth management arms. IPOs present the opportunity for firms “to compete for new assets that could kind of flow into their wealth channel,” Devin Ryan, head of financial services research at Citizens, told CNBC. “It also creates a multiplier in the wealth business, and then beyond the wealth business.” GS YTD mountain Goldman Sachs YTD Goldman has already seen results. During its second-quarter earnings call in July, the bank said it had generated nearly 900 referrals to its wealth management unit from its investment banking business since the start of 2025. Its wealth management client assets reached roughly $2 trillion, while management and other fees across its broader asset and wealth management (AWM) division rose 20% from a year earlier. In Q3, reported last month, Goldman turned in a sequential AWM increase on 14.3% year-over-year growth. Unlike investment banking, which depends on deal volume, wealth management generates recurring fees from overseeing client assets. Goldman’s relationships with corporate executives give its advisors the ability to reach potential clients before major transactions turn their holdings into liquid wealth. “Goldman has a phenomenal funnel and phenomenal C-suite relationships that they can make sure that they have a seat at the table when there’s a conversation around those wealth events,” Citizens’ Ryan said. The benefits can extend beyond attracting new clients. Ryan said participation in major IPOs also allows banks to deepen relationships with existing wealthy clients, including those seeking access to shares in highly anticipated listings. A targeted approach Morgan Stanley has already shown how lucrative this can be. The bank attracted a record $232 billion in net new assets (NAA) during the third quarter, with IPO-related flows accounting for just over half of the total. That was up 57% from its previous record of $148 billion in the second quarter and nearly triple the $81 billion recorded a year earlier. Goldman, by comparison, reported $47 billion in long-term wealth management inflows during the third quarter , though the figures aren’t directly comparable. Goldman’s measure largely reflects longer-term invested assets, while Morgan Stanley’s also captures more volatile flows from employee stock plans and brokerage accounts. Some of Morgan Stanley’s recent NNA growth has been fueled by SpaceX’s blockbuster debut, with CFO Sharon Yeshaya saying in October that IPOs are not “just a one-quarter event.” While Goldman led the underwriting, a major part of Morgan Stanley’s responsibilities was managing SpaceX’s directed share program , which allowed certain SpaceX employees and other eligible participants to purchase shares in the offering. That role provided Morgan Stanley with direct relationships with employees whose holdings could eventually translate into longer-term wealth management assets. [IPOs are not] just a one-quarter event. Morgan Stanley CFO Sharon Yeshaya Morgan Stanley handled the SpaceX directed share program through what it calls its workplace business, which is on the wealth management side of the house. This arrangement illustrates the advantage of the workplace group because it helps companies manage capitalization tables, which are records of equity ownership, long before they go public. A spokesperson from Morgan Stanley told CNBC that those existing relationships give the bank a direct connection to employees as their shares become liquid, rather than having to compete for their business after an IPO. Morgan Stanley built out those capabilities through its acquisitions of stock plan management platform Solium in 2019, now known as Shareworks, and brokerage platform E-Trade in 2020. Together, the businesses allow Morgan Stanley to serve employees across a range of wealth levels, from those managing their own investments to those seeking more comprehensive financial advice. While competitors such as Goldman, through Ayco, and Bank of America, through Merrill, offer similar services, Ryan said Morgan Stanley has a more integrated platform for managing employee shares, bringing those assets into brokerage accounts and eventually converting participants into wealth management clients. “If you have the full continuum, that’s important because for the employee, it’s seamless,” the analyst said. The opportunity doesn’t necessarily end when a company goes public. As employees continue to receive and vest stock awards, Morgan Stanley has additional chances to attract assets and deepen those relationships over time, according to a Morgan Stanley spokesperson. Leaning on relationships Goldman’s approach is different. Rather than relying primarily on employee stock-plan administration, the bank uses its investment banking relationships to reach founders and executives ahead of major liquidity events. Its private wealth management business remains focused on ultra-high-net-worth clients, which the bank defines as at least $10 million in investable assets . Meanwhile, its Ayco business provides financial planning services to executives across a broader range of wealth levels. “One of the most important lessons we’ve learned is to engage early,” a Goldman spokesperson told CNBC. “Starting earlier, well before an IPO or acquisition, gives clients greater flexibility on decisions including option exercises, tax strategy, gifting, and liquidity management.” Ryan cautioned against declaring one approach inherently superior, noting that Goldman’s relationships with corporate leadership remain a powerful source of potential clients. Plus, Anthropic may not offer Morgan Stanley the same built-in advantage as it enjoyed with SpaceX. As of September, banks were still vying to manage their employee stock plans , potentially leaving the door open for Goldman and other competitors. One of the most important lessons we’ve learned is to engage early. Spokesperson Goldman Sachs Still, Morningstar analyst Sean Dunlop said much of the wealth created by the IPO could be spread among employees with smaller fortunes, rather than ultra-high-net-worth individuals. “I don’t know that Goldman is necessarily going to see a huge benefit in the wealth business from the Anthropic IPO specifically,” he said. The bigger opportunity may come from what follows. A successful Anthropic debut could continue to help restore confidence in the IPO market after years of relatively subdued activity, encouraging other privately held companies to pursue listings and creating additional prospects for banks to attract newly wealthy clients. “If you believe that we are moving to a world where there is going to be many more high-profile IPOs than there has been in the recent past, then you can start to, in aggregate, start talking about some meaningful numbers,” Ryan said. 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