Meredith Whitney, the so-called most powerful woman on Wall Street, moved the markets today with a bullish short term call on the banks. She was particularly bullish on Goldman Sachs. Her earnings estimate for Goldman Sachs, which reports tomorrow, is $4.65 compared to consensus estimates of $3.48. She predicts they will earn $20 for 2009 and more than $22 for 2010.
Goldman Sachs had their highest earnings in 2007 at $24.73. 2006 was at $19.71. In a year where Goldman Sachs is deleveraging, if they can pull off these types of earnings, it will be remarkable.
Naked Capitalism has two videos of Meredith Whitney making these calls.