Goldman Sachs reported a sharp increase in first-quarter profits, but markets had been expecting more and shares in the investment bank ended 4.7% lower.
Johnson & Johnson also weighed on the Dow Jones, dropping 3.1% after its revenues were lower than expected.
The company reported first-quarter sales of $17.77bn, but this was below analysts' forecasts of about $18bn.
Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson were the two biggest fallers on the Dow Jones, and the Dow was down 113 points, or 0.5%, at 20,523.
The S&P 500 index dipped 0.3% to 2,342 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index edged down 0.1% to 5,849 points.
US stocks ended lower after results from Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson fell short of expectations.