David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, is hopeful about IPOs

The upcoming spate of tech IPOs could help boost subdued capital markets. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told CNBC’s David Faber.

Companies like chip designer Arm and Instacart have filed to go public, and companies considering going public will be watching how those IPOs go, Solomon said during the interview Thursday.

“Over the next few months, particularly if Arm and some of these other IPOs go well, I think you’re going to see a significant increase in activity,” Solomon said.

A rebound in IPOs and mergers would be welcome for Goldman and the rest of Wall Street, which has struggled with a lack of activity over the past year. After having a record sales year in 2021, Solomon has had to deal with internal disagreements and criticism of his decisions and leadership style in a series of unflattering articles.

Solomon addressed the negative media coverage, repeatedly saying that he didn’t recognize the “caricature” of himself shown in the stories.

“It’s not fun to watch some of the personal attacks in the press,” Solomon said. “I don’t recognize the caricature that was drawn of me. I’ve talked to many colleagues and customers who don’t recognize this caricature either.”

During the wide-ranging interview, Solomon touched on tighter banking regulation, curbing Goldman’s ambitions in consumer finance and the merger market. Acquisitions are likely to pick up as CEOs regain confidence in the coming months, he said.

“The sentiment I’m hearing from CEOs around the world is trying to get this back under control,” Solomon said, but warned that the recovery in mergers would lag that of IPOs.