For Goldman Sachs bankers, the hottest dinner spot in 2026 could very well be their desks.
As the year’s anticipated dealmaking frenzy gets underway, the corporate merger machine is hungry, and investment banking advisors are too. Goldman has agreed to boost its nightly dinner allowance from $30 to $35 for employees working past 8 p.m in the office, Business Insider has learned.
Anyone across the nearly 50,000-person company’s multiple divisions — from investment banking to asset management — will be eligible to redeem the heightened stipend on late-night eats.
The policy change was first posted on social media by an account run by Exec Sum, the newsletter affiliated with the finance social media account Litquidity. Business Insider verified the stipend adjustment via a person with close knowledge of the bank’s policy change. This isn’t the first time Goldman has had to adjust for the rising cost of a desk-side meal. The bank last hiked the stipend in 2022, moving it from $25 to $30.
The timing of the raise coincides with what’s expected to be a monster year for mergers and acquisitions. This week, David Solomon, the firm’s CEO, laid out his case for why he expects corporate dealmaking to surge this year.
The latest $5 increase may reflect the persistent reality of food costs in financial hubs like New York and London. According to 2026 economic forecasts, the cost of “food away from home” is projected to rise another 4.6% this year, the USDA found.
In a city like New York — where delivery fees, service charges, and tips can easily swallow half a budget — the last thing a junior banker wants to do when the clock strikes midnight is choose between a side dish or a drink. And though an extra $5 is a small line item for a global powerhouse bank, it’s an acknowledgement of the overhead required to sustain Wall Street’s high-octane pace.
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