NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs Group’s earnings fell in the first quarter as bond trading slumped, but the results were ahead of what investors expected because other parts of the bank performed well.
The bank earned $1.95 billion, down 11 percent from $2.19 billion a year earlier. The earnings were equivalent to $4.02 a share, versus $4.29 in the first quarter of 2013.
Revenue totaled $9.33 billion, down 8 percent from $10.09 billion a year earlier.
The earnings easily beat the $3.49 a share analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted. First-quarter revenue also beat analysts’ expectations of $8.7 billion.
Revenue from the bank’s bond trading fell 11 percent to $2.85 billion. Goldman, like other big Wall Street banks including JPMorgan and Citigroup, has seen bonding trading slump in the first quarter. The business is ‘‘operating in a challenging environment and levels of activity generally remained low,’’ Goldman said.
Revenue at Goldman’s investment banking unit rose, driven partly by higher client activity in its financial advisory business in Europe and more stock underwriting.
The bank’s investment banking revenue rose 13 percent to $1.78 billion.
Compensation expense, the banks biggest single cost, was pegged at $4.01 billion, down 8 percent from $4.34 billion a year earlier.