I will now call the meeting to order. The board and I are happy to be here in Salt Lake City, Utah, with our shareholders, as well as our people, our clients, and other stakeholders. Goldman Sachs has an office presence in Salt Lake City for over 25 years. We have an extraordinary team in this region, and their work exemplifies each of our core values: partnership, client service, integrity, and excellence. In 2025, we delivered strong performance across our world-class interconnected franchises as we continue to execute on our strategy and serve our clients with excellence. We increased our net revenues year-over-year by 9% to $58.3 billion, grew our earnings per share by 27% to $51.32, and improved our return on equity by 230 basis points to 15%.
In the first quarter of 2026, we achieved the second highest net revenues, net earnings, and earnings per share in the history of Goldman Sachs. These results are the product of sustained execution. When I look back over the past 6+ years, I'm incredibly proud of the progress we've made as a firm. At our January 2020 Investor Day, we laid out a clear strategy to grow and strengthen our firm. From 2019 through 2025, we've increased firmwide net revenues by roughly 60%, grown earnings per share by 144%, and improved our returns by 500 basis points. We delivered a total shareholder return of over 340%, the most of our peer group during this timeframe. At the same time, we've materially improved the risk profile of the firm and enhanced the resilience of our earnings.
Building on this progress, we announced the launch of One Goldman Sachs 3.0, our operating model propelled by AI. We remain confident that over time, OneGS 3.0 will drive stronger operating leverage, greater resilience, and improved efficiency and returns, allowing us to continue to elevate services to our clients. This exceptional service is a direct result of our people who are the most important asset we have, and we remain focused on continuing to invest in them. In a dynamic environment driven by accelerating technological change, uncertainty in parts of private credit, and heightened geopolitical tensions, our performance continues to demonstrate that Goldman Sachs' deep expertise and culture of disciplined risk management continue to differentiate our firm. While market outcomes are inherently difficult to predict, we have consistently shown that in times of uncertainty, clients turn to Goldman Sachs as a trusted advisor for strong execution and differentiated insight.
We believe Goldman Sachs is extremely well-positioned to navigate the current environment and to serve our clients with excellence while we continue to create long-term value for our shareholders. I would now like to introduce the members of our Board of Directors and to thank them for their service. Would each of you please rise as I say your name? David Viniar, Lead Director and Chair of our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. Michele Burns. Mark Flaherty. John Hess. Kevin Johnson. Ellen Kullman, Chair of our Public Responsibilities Committee. KC McClure. Tom Montag, Chair of our Risk Committee. Peter Oppenheimer, Chair of our Audit Committee. Vice Admiral Jan Tighe, Chair of our Technology Risk Subcommittee, and John Waldron, our President and Chief Operating Officer. I would also like to introduce Kimberley Harris, Chair of our Compensation Committee, who is joining us remotely on the screen.
Also here today with us are Denis Coleman, our Chief Financial Officer, and John Rogers, our Secretary for the board. In addition, from our independent auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, we have Sam May, and from American Election Services, we are joined by Christopher Woods, our Inspector of Election. I would also like to recognize Lakshmi Mittal, who retires today from our board, and thank him for his exceptional service to Goldman Sachs over nearly 18 years. I will now turn to the business of the meeting. We will conduct the meeting in accordance with the agenda and rules of conduct. I have been advised by our independent tabulator and our Inspector of Election that holders of at least 86% of our outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy, and accordingly, a quorum is present.
I hereby acknowledge that the matters to be voted upon described in our proxy statement and supplemental filing are properly before the meeting. It is Wednesday, April 29th at 8:33 A.M. Mountain Time. I declare the polls on all proposals open. All voting at this meeting will be conducted by ballot. If you have voted your shares prior to the start of the annual meeting, your vote has already been received and tabulated, and there is no need to vote again unless you wish to revoke or change your vote. Submitting a ballot today will revoke any earlier proxies you may have submitted. Anyone who needs a ballot, please raise your hand, and they'll be collected after the polls are closed. There will be an opportunity for any shareholder wearing a green shareholder badge to ask questions on each of the proposals.
After all the proposals have been presented, we'll collect any ballots and close the polls. We will have a general question and answer session. If you have a general question or comment, please wait for then to raise it. Please use the podium located in the aisle to present the shareholder proposals or ask any questions. Before speaking, please identify yourself as a shareholder, state your name, and if applicable, your organization. We will now turn to the proposals. The first matter to be voted on is the election of directors. The board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote for the election of each of the director nominees for the reasons set forth in the proxy statement. Are there any questions related to this matter? The second matter to be voted on is an advisory vote to approve the executive compensation of our named executive officers.
The board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote for this say on pay vote for the reasons set forth in the proxy statement. Are there any questions related to this matter? Third matter to be voted on is the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as our independent auditors for 2026. The board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote for the ratification of PwC for the reasons set forth in the proxy statement. Are there any questions related to this matter? The fourth matter to be voted on is a shareholder proposal submitted by John Chevedden regarding special shareholder meeting thresholds. The board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote against the shareholder proposal for the reasons set forth in our proxy statement. I believe the proposal is being presented by Drew Jorgensen. Drew, please go ahead.
Good morning, sir. Shareholders ask the board of directors to take the steps necessary to amend the governing documents to give the owners of a combined 10% of the outstanding common stock the power to call a special shareholder meeting. Such a special shareholder meeting can be an easy-to-convene online shareholder meeting. Goldman Sachs claims that its current requirement of 25% of shares to call for a special shareholder meeting is meaningful. Goldman Sachs fails to give even one example of a special shareholder meeting ever being conducted, which required the 25% figure, thus the need for the 10% figure in this proposal.
Furthermore, more than 100 major companies have published special shareholder meeting proposals, but not one of these 100 companies has ever claimed that a special shareholder meeting ever took place at any company, anywhere that required 25% of shares to call for a special shareholder meeting. Thus, the current 25% figure is unattainable. Of course, companies like Goldman Sachs want the 25% figure because they know that the 25% figure means that a special shareholder meeting will never take place. Please vote yes for the attainable 10% figure. That's all.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions related to this proposal? As previously disclosed, the American Family Association proposal regarding charitable giving reporting that was originally included in our proxy statement as the fifth matter to be voted on was withdrawn, and any votes previously cast on the proposal have been disregarded. The next matter to be voted on is a shareholder proposal submitted by the New York City Comptroller on behalf of certain New York City Retirement Systems regarding the disclosure of an energy supply ratio. The board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote against this shareholder proposal for reasons set forth in the proxy. I believe the proposal is being presented by Yumi Narita. Yumi, go ahead. No problem. Take your time.
Award ceremony where am I supposed to win? Okay. Thank you. Which I won't. In any event, good morning, Mr. Solomon, Mr. Viniar, members of the board, and fellow shareholders. I'm Yumi Narita from the Office of the New York City Comptroller, Mark Levine. I'm presenting item six on behalf of Comptroller Levine and for the New York City Pension Funds. Item six requests disclosure of the company's energy supply ratio or ESR, a simple dollar-based metric that reflects how the company's financing is allocated between low carbon and fossil fuel activities. The company has reiterated its commitment to sustainable finance. However, investors still lack specifics on its annual energy supply financing within and beyond its sustainable financing commitment.
While investors believe that continuing to annually report on financed emissions is essential, we also believe that disclosure of a dollar-based ESR metric grounded in internal bank data complements such disclosure. Since this proposal was last submitted, major global developments have underscored the significance of geopolitical risks and the volatility of oil markets. Despite the U.S. policy environment, the energy transition is accelerating globally, and the ESR disclosure is more critical than ever. Investors need visibility into how the bank is managing the risks and opportunities associated with the energy transition. To underscore, ESR is a dollar-based disclosure that reflects actual financing flows, not client-reported emissions or estimates. It complements finance emissions disclosures by giving investors a clear, concrete view of the bank's real-world energy financing priorities. This proposal is intentionally non-prescriptive. The proposal does not request targets or constrain its finance activities in any way.
It leaves the methodology of an ESR entirely at the company's discretion, which allows for evolving legal and regulatory requirements and the ability for the bank to develop a methodology relevant to the bank's specific context. A bank-calculated ESR using internal data rather than third-party estimates like BloombergNEF will enhance its transparency and accountability. Notably, Bloomberg estimates do not include lending and rely solely on public information. Goldman peers JP Morgan and Citi disclose their ESR, which underscores both its value to investors and its feasibility even in a changing regulatory landscape. Other top fossil fuel financiers also have some ESR disclosure. I urge the board to reconsider its opposition and for investors to support this proposal. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions related to this proposal? I was gonna say you can stay there.
I know.
Save yourself the walk. Save yourself the walk.
I'm excited.
Absolutely. The final matter to be voted on is a shareholder proposal regarding lobbying disclosure submitted by Mercy Rome, Fergus Foundation, and Eric and Emily Johnson, with Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois, as co-filer. The Board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote against the shareholder proposal for the reasons set forth in our proxy. This proposal is also being presented by Yumi Narita. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Thanks again. I also stand to present item 7, submitted by Newground Social Investment on behalf of the Fergus Foundation and two individual investors and co-filed by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois. Item 7 asks Goldman Sachs to publish an annual report that transparently discloses its direct and indirect lobbying expenditures, including federal, state, and those made through trade associations and social welfare groups. The New York City Pension Funds have cast their votes for item 7 because Goldman Sachs existing disclosures lag peers and can be enhanced. I encourage our fellow shareholders to also support this proposal. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions related to this proposal? At this time, it is 8:43 A.M., and I declare the polls closed on all proposals. We will provide you with preliminary voting results on each of the proposals as soon as they're tabulated. At this time, we invite any shareholder wearing a green shareholder badge who has questions about Goldman Sachs to approach the podium to ask their question. To ensure that every shareholder has an opportunity to participate, I ask that each speaker limit their question to three minutes. When asking your question, please identify yourself as a shareholder and state your name, if applicable, and your organization. Are there any questions? Okay. Okay. With that, we've been informed by the Inspector of Election that the preliminary voting results are now available.
I will ask Jamie Greenberg, Assistant Secretary to the Board and the acting secretary of this meeting to please provide those results.
Thank you, David. These results are based on preliminary estimates. The final voting results will be provided in a Form 8-K that we will file within four business days. First, I'm pleased to announce that each of our 13 director nominees received the support of a majority of our shareholders, and consequently, each has been elected. Second, the advisory vote to approve the executive compensation of our named executive officers received the support of those representing approximately 70% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, and consequently, this advisory proposal is approved. Excuse me. Third, the proposed ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as our independent auditors received the support of votes representing approximately 94% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, and consequently is approved.
The shareholder proposal regarding special shareholder meeting thresholds received the support of approximately 37% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, and consequently is not approved. The shareholder proposal regarding disclosure of an energy supply ratio received the support of approximately 18% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, and consequently is not approved. Lastly, the shareholder proposal regarding lobbying disclosure received the support of approximately 38% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, and consequently is not approved.
Thank you, Jamie. On behalf of our board of directors and the management team, I'd like to thank you all for being here and listening in. We strongly value our engagement with our shareholders and other stakeholders. This concludes our meeting. I hereby declare this meeting adjourned.