Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)

Registration Statement No. 333-219206

GS Finance Corp. $770,000 Autocallable Index-Linked Notes due 2022 guaranteed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

The notes do not bear interest. The notes will mature on the stated maturity date (May 23, 2022) unless they are automatically called on any call observation date (the dates, commencing on May 15, 2019, specified on page PS-5 of this pricing supplement).  Your notes will be automatically called on a call observation date if the closing level of each of the EURO STOXX 50^® Index and the S&P 500^® Index on such date is greater than or equal to its initial level (the initial levels are 3,564.29 with respect to the EURO STOXX 50^® Index and 2,711.45 with respect to the S&P 500^® Index), resulting in a payment on the corresponding call payment date (the fifth business day after each call observation date) equal to the face amount of your notes plus the product of $1,000 times the applicable call premium amount. The applicable call premium amount for each call payment date is specified on page PS-5 of this pricing supplement.

The amount that you will be paid on your notes at maturity, if the notes have not been automatically called, is based on the performance of the lesser performing index (the index with the lowest index return). The index return for each index is the percentage increase or decrease in the final level (the closing level of the index on the determination date, May 16, 2022) from its initial level.

At maturity, for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, you will receive an amount in cash equal to:

· if the final level of each index is greater than or equal to its initial level, $1,580;

· if the final level of each index is greater than or equal to 70% of its initial level but the final level of any index is less than its initial level, $1,100; or

· if the final level of any index is less than 70% of its initial level, the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) the lesser performing index return times (b)$1,000. You will receive less than 70% of the face amount of your notes.

If the index return for any index is less than -30%, the percentage of the face amount of your notes you will receive will be based on the performance of the index with the lowest index return. In such event, you will receive less than 70% of the face amount of your notes.

You should read the disclosure herein to better understand the terms and risks of your investment, including the credit risk of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. See page PS-10.

The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date is equal to approximately $978 per $1,000 face amount. For a discussion of the estimated value and the price at which Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC would initially buy or sell your notes, if it makes a market in the notes, see the following page.

Original issue date:	May 22, 2018	Original issue price:	100% of the face amount
Underwriting discount:	0.3% of the face amount*	Net proceeds to the issuer:	99.7% of the face amount

*In addition to the 0.3%, the underwriting discount paid by us also includes a structuring fee of 0.19% and a marketing fee of 0.75%, in each case, of the face amount. See “Summary Information — Key Terms — Supplemental plan of distribution; conflicts of interest” on page PS-5.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The notes are not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, nor are they obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Pricing Supplement No. 3,394 dated May 15, 2018.

The issue price, underwriting discount and net proceeds listed above relate to the notes we sell initially.  We may decide to sell additional notes after the date of this pricing supplement, at issue prices and with underwriting discounts and net proceeds that differ from the amounts set forth above. The return (whether positive or negative) on your investment in notes will depend in part on the issue price you pay for such notes.

GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in the initial sale of the notes. In addition, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC or any other affiliate of GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in a market-making transaction in a note after its initial sale.  Unless GS Finance Corp. or its agent informs the purchaser otherwise in the confirmation of sale, this prospectus is being used in a market-making transaction.

Estimated Value of Your Notes

The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date (as determined by reference to pricing models used by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) and taking into account our credit spreads) is equal to approximately $978 per $1,000 face amount, which is less than the original issue price.  The value of your notes at any time will reflect many factors and cannot be predicted; however, the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would initially buy or sell notes (if it makes a market, which it is not obligated to do) and the value that GS&Co. will initially use for account statements and otherwise is equal to approximately the estimated value of your notes at the time of pricing, plus an additional amount (initially equal to $12 per $1,000 face amount).

Prior to May 22, 2019, the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would buy or sell your notes (if it makes a market, which it is not obligated to do) will equal approximately the sum of (a) the then-current estimated value of your notes (as determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models) plus (b) any remaining additional amount (the additional amount will decline to zero on a straight-line basis from the time of pricing through May 21, 2019). On and after May 22, 2019, the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would buy or sell your notes (if it makes a market) will equal approximately the then-current estimated value of your notes determined by reference to such pricing models.

About Your Prospectus

The notes are part of the Medium-Term Notes, Series E program of GS Finance Corp., and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.  This prospectus includes this pricing supplement and the accompanying documents listed below. This pricing supplement constitutes a supplement to the documents listed below and should be read in conjunction with such documents:

●    General terms supplement no. 1,734 dated July 10, 2017

●    Prospectus supplement dated July 10, 2017

●    Prospectus dated July 10, 2017

The information in this pricing supplement supersedes any conflicting information in the documents listed above. In addition, some of the terms or features described in the listed documents may not apply to your notes.

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SUMMARY INFORMATION

We refer to the notes we are offering by this pricing supplement as the “offered notes” or the “notes”. Each of the offered notes has the terms described below. Please note that in this pricing supplement, references to “GS Finance Corp.”, “we”, “our” and “us” mean only GS Finance Corp. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates, references to “The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.”, our parent company, mean only The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates and references to “Goldman Sachs” mean The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates, including us. Also, references to the “accompanying prospectus” mean the accompanying prospectus, dated July 10, 2017, references to the “accompanying prospectus supplement” mean the accompanying prospectus supplement, dated July 10, 2017, for Medium-Term Notes, Series E, and references to the “accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734” mean the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734, dated July 10, 2017, in each case of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. The notes will be issued under the senior debt indenture, dated as of October 10, 2008, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of February 20, 2015, each among us, as issuer, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee. This indenture is referred to as the “GSFC 2008 indenture” in the accompanying prospectus supplement.

This section is meant as a summary and should be read in conjunction with the section entitled “Supplemental Terms of the Notes” on page S-16 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734. Please note that certain features described in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734 are not applicable to the notes. This pricing supplement supersedes any conflicting provisions of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734.

Key Terms

Issuer:  GS Finance Corp.

Guarantor: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Underliers:  the EURO STOXX 50^® Index (Bloomberg symbol, “SX5E Index”), as sponsored and maintained by STOXX Limited, and the S&P 500^® Index (Bloomberg symbol, “SPX Index”), as published by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC; see “The Underliers” on page PS-15

Specified currency:  U.S. dollars (“$”)

Face amount:  each note will have a face amount equal to $1,000; $770,000 in the aggregate for all the offered notes; the aggregate face amount of the offered notes may be increased if the issuer, at its sole option, decides to sell an additional amount of the offered notes on a date subsequent to the date of this pricing supplement

Purchase at amount other than face amount: the amount we will pay you for your notes on a call payment date or the stated maturitydate, as the case may be, will not be adjusted based onthe issue price you pay for your notes, so if youacquire notes at a premium (or discount) to faceamount and hold them to a call payment date or the stated maturitydate, it could affect your investment in a numberof ways. The return on your investment in such notes will be lower (or higher) than it would havebeen had you purchased the notes at faceamount. See “AdditionalRisk Factors Specific to Your Notes — If YouPurchase Your Notes at a Premium to FaceAmount, the Return on Your Investment Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes Purchased at Face Amount and the Impact of Certain Key Terms of the Notes Will Be Negatively Affected”on page PS-13 of this pricing supplement

Supplemental discussion of U.S. federal income tax consequences: you will be obligated pursuant to the terms of the notes — in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary — to characterize each note for all tax purposes as a pre-paid derivative contract in respect of the underliers, as described under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” herein.  Pursuant to this approach, it is the opinion of Sidley Austin llp that upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, it would be reasonable for you to recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference, if any, between the amount of cash you receive at such time and your tax basis in your notes.

Automatic call feature:  if, as measured on any call observation date, the closing level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its initial underlier level, your notes will be automatically called; if your notes are automatically called on any call observation date, on the corresponding call payment date you will receive the applicable amount specified in the table set forth under “Call payment dates” below, which is an amount

PS-3

in cash equal to the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of $1,000 times the applicable call premium amount, and no further payments will be made since your notes will no longer be outstanding. If the closing level of any underlier is below its initial underlier level on a call observation date, the notes will not be automatically called.

Cash settlement amount (on any call payment date):  if your notes are automatically called on a call observation date because the closing level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its initial underlier level, for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, on the related call payment date, we will pay you the applicable amount specified in the table set forth under “Call Payment Dates” below, which is an amount in cash equal to the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of $1,000 times the applicable call premium amount.

Cash settlement amount (on the stated maturity date):  if your notes are not automatically called,for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, we will pay you on the stated maturity date an amount in cash equal to:

· if the final underlier level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its initial underlier level, the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) $1,000 times (b) the maturity date premium amount;

· if the final underlier level of each underlier is greater than or equal to 70% of its initial underlier level but the final underlier level of any underlier is less than its initial underlier level, $1,100; or

· if the final underlier level of any underlier is less than 70% of its initial underlier level, the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) the lesser performing underlier return times (b)$1,000. You will receive less than 70% of the face amount of your note

Lesser performing underlier return:  the underlier return of the lesser performing underlier

Lesser performing underlier:  the underlier with the lowest underlier return

Call premium amount:  with respect to any call payment date, the applicable call premium amount specified in the table set forth under “Call payment dates” below

Maturity date premium amount: 58%

Initial underlier level: 3,564.29 with respect to the EURO STOXX 50^® Index and 2,711.45 with respect to the S&P 500^® Index

Final underlier level: with respect to each underlier,the closing level of such underlier on the determination date, except in the limited circumstances described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Consequences of a Market Disruption Event or a Non-Trading Day” on page S-23 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734 and subject to adjustment as provided under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Discontinuance or Modification of an Underlier” on page S-27 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Closing level:  with respect to each underlier, as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Closing Level” on page S-31 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Underlier return:  with respect to each underlier, the quotient of (i) the final underlier level minus the initial underlier level divided by (ii)the initial underlier level, expressed as a positive or negative percentage

Defeasance: not applicable

No interest:  the offered notes do not bear interest

No listing: the offered notes will not be listed or displayed on any securities exchange or interdealer market quotation system

Business day:  as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Business Day” on page S-30 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Trading day:  as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Trading Day” on page S-31 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Trade date:  May 15, 2018

Original issue date (settlement date): May 22, 2018

Stated maturity date: May 23, 2022, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Stated Maturity Date” on page S-16 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Determination date: May 16, 2022, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Determination Date” on page S-16 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

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Call observation dates: the dates specified as such in the table set forth under “Call payment dates” below, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Call Observation Dates” on page S-20 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Call payment dates: the fifth business day after each call observation date, which call payment dates are the dates specified in the table below, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Call Payment Dates” on page S-16 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Call Observation Dates	Call Payment Dates	Call Premium Amount	Amount Paid on the Applicable Call Payment Date
May 15, 2019	May 22, 2019	14.5%	$1,145
May 15, 2020	May 22, 2020	29%	$1,290
May 17, 2021	May 24, 2021	43.5%	$1,435

Use of proceeds and hedging: as described under “Use of Proceeds” and “Hedging” on page S-92 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

ERISA: as described under “Employee Retirement Income Security Act” on page S-95 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734

Supplemental plan of distribution; conflicts of interest: as described under “Supplemental Plan of Distribution” on page S-96 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734 and “Plan of Distribution — Conflicts of Interest” on page 98 of the accompanying prospectus; GS Finance Corp. estimates that its share of the total offering expenses, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $20,000.

GS Finance Corp. will sell to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (“GS&Co.”), and GS&Co. will purchase from GS Finance Corp., the aggregate face amount of the offered notes specified on the front cover of this pricing supplement. GS&Co. proposes initially to offer the notes to the public at the original issue price set forth on the cover page of this pricing supplement. Each securities dealer will receive from us a structuring fee of 0.19% of the face amount of each such note.

GS&Co. has engaged Incapital LLC to provide certain marketing services from time to time relating to notes of this series. Incapital LLC will receive a fee of 0.75% of the face amount of each note offered hereby from us in connection with such service.

GS&Co. is an affiliate of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and, as such, will have a “conflict of interest” in this offering of notes within the meaning of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) Rule 5121. Consequently, this offering of notes will be conducted in compliance with the provisions of FINRA Rule 5121. GS&Co. will not be permitted to sell notes in this offering to an account over which it exercises discretionary authority without the prior specific written approval of the account holder.

We will deliver the notes against payment therefor in New York, New York on May 22, 2018. Under Rule 15c6-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in two business days, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade notes on any date prior to two business days before delivery will be required to specify alternative settlement arrangements to prevent a failed settlement.

We have been advised by GS&Co. that it intends to make a market in the notes. However, neither GS&Co. nor any of our other affiliates that makes a market is obligated to do so and any of them may stop doing so at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity or trading market for the notes.

Calculation agent:  GS&Co.

CUSIP no.: 40055Q6E7

ISIN no.: US40055Q6E76

FDIC:  the notes are not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, nor are they obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank

PS-5

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES

The following examples are provided for purposes of illustration only. They should not be taken as an indication or prediction of future investment results and are intended merely to illustrate (i) the impact that various hypothetical closing levels of the underliers on a call observation date and on the determination date could have on the cash settlement amount on a call payment date or on the stated maturity date, as the case may be, assuming all other variables remain constant.

The examples below are based on a range of underlier levels that are entirely hypothetical; no one can predict what the underlier level of any underlier will be on any day throughout the life of your notes, what the closing level of any underlier will be on any call observation date and what the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier will be on the determination date. The underliers have been highly volatile in the past — meaning that the underlier levels have changed substantially in relatively short periods — and their performance cannot be predicted for any future period.

The information in the following examples reflects hypothetical rates of return on the offered notes assuming that they are purchased on the original issue date at the face amount and held to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be.  If you sell your notes in a secondary market prior to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, your return will depend upon the market value of your notes at the time of sale, which may be affected by a number of factors that are not reflected in the examples below such as interest rates, the volatility of the underliers, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as issuer, and the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor.  In addition, the estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date (as determined by reference to pricing models used by GS&Co.) is less than the original issue price of your notes.  For more information on the estimated value of your notes, see “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — The Estimated Value of Your Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes” on page PS-10 of this pricing supplement.  The information in the examples also reflects the key terms and assumptions in the box below.

Key Terms and Assumptions
Face amount	$1,000
Call premium amount	The applicable call premium amount for each call payment date is specified on page PS-5 of this pricing supplement
Maturity date premium amount	58%
The notes are not automatically called, unless otherwise indicated below Neither a market disruption event nor a non-trading day occurs on any originally scheduled call observation date or the originally scheduled determination date
No change in or affecting any of the underlier stocks or the method by which the applicable underlier sponsor calculates any underlier
Notes purchased on original issue date at the face amount and held to a call payment date or the stated maturity date

For these reasons, the actual performance of the underliers over the life of your notes, as well as the amount payable on a call payment date or at maturity, if any, may bear little relation to the hypothetical examples shown below or to the historical underlier levels shown elsewhere in this pricing supplement. For information about the underlier levels during recent periods, see “The Underliers — Historical Closing Levels of the Underliers” on page PS-22. Before investing in the notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the underlier levels between the date of this pricing supplement and the date of your purchase of the notes.

Also, the hypothetical examples shown below do not take into account the effects of applicable taxes.  Because of the U.S. tax treatment applicable to your notes, tax liabilities could affect the after-tax rate of return on your notes to a comparatively greater extent than the after-tax return on the underlier stocks.

Hypothetical Payment on a Call Payment Date

The examples below show hypothetical payments that we would pay on a call payment date with respect to each $1,000 face amount of the notes if the closing level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its initial

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underlier level on the applicable call observation date. While there are three potential call payment dates with respect to your notes, the examples below only illustrate the amount you will receive, if any, on the first and second call payment date.

If your notes are automatically called on the first call observation date (i.e., on the first call observation date the closing level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its initial underlier level), the cash settlement amount that we would deliver for each $1,000 face amount of your notes on the applicable call payment date would be the sum of $1,000 plus the product of the applicable call premium amount times $1,000. If, for example, the closing level of each underlier was determined to be 120% of its initial underlier level, your notes would be automatically called and the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes on the corresponding call payment date would be 114.5% of the face amount of your notes or $1,145 for each $1,000 of the face amount of your notes.

If the notes are not automatically called on the first call observation date and are automatically called on the second call observation date (i.e., on the first call observation date the closing level of any underlier is less than its initial underlier level, and on the second call observation date the closing level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its initial underlier level), the cash settlement amount that we would deliver for each $1,000 face amount of your notes on the applicable call payment date would be the sum of $1,000 plus the product of the applicable call premium amount times $1,000. If, for example, the closing level of each underlier was determined to be 140% of its initial underlier level, your notes would be automatically called and the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes on the corresponding call payment date would be 129% of the face amount of your notes or $1,290 for each $1,000 of the face amount of your notes.

Hypothetical Payment at Maturity

If the notes are not automatically called on any call observation date (i.e., on each call observation date the closing level of any underlier is less than its initial underlier level), the cash settlement amount we would deliver for each $1,000 face amount of your notes on the stated maturity date will depend on the performance of the lesser performing underlier on the determination date, as shown in the table below.  The table below assumes that the notes have not been automatically called on a call observation date and reflects hypothetical cash settlement amounts that you could receive on the stated maturity date.

The levels in the left column of the table below represent hypothetical final underlier levels of the lesser performing underlier and are expressed as percentages of the initial underlier level of the lesser performing underlier.  The amounts in the right column represent the hypothetical cash settlement amounts, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier level of the lesser performing underlier), and are expressed as percentages of the face amount of a note (rounded to the nearest one-thousandth of a percent).  Thus, a hypothetical cash settlement amount of 100.000% means that the value of the cash payment that we would deliver for each $1,000 of the outstanding face amount of the offered notes on the stated maturity date would equal 100.000% of the face amount of a note, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier level of the lesser performing underlier) and the assumptions noted above.

PS-7

The Notes Have Not Been Automatically Called
Hypothetical Final Underlier Level of the Lesser Performing Underlier (as Percentage of Initial Underlier Level)	Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount at Maturity if the Notes Have Not Been  Automatically Called on a Call Observation Date (as Percentage of Face Amount)
175.000%	158.000%
150.000%	158.000%
125.000%	158.000%
110.000%	158.000%
100.000%	158.000%
99.999%	110.000%
90.000%	110.000%
80.000%	110.000%
75.000%	110.000%
70.000%	110.000%
69.999%	69.999%
30.000%	30.000%
25.000%	25.000%
10.000%	10.000%
0.000%	0.000%

If, for example, the notes have not been automatically called on a call observation date and the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier were determined to be 25.000% of its initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be 25.000% of the face amount of your notes, as shown in the table above.  As a result, if you purchased your notes on the original issue date at the face amount and held them to the stated maturity date, you would lose 75.000% of your investment (if you purchased your notes at a premium to face amount you would lose a correspondingly higher percentage of your investment).  If the notes have not been automatically called on a call observation date and the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier were determined to be 80.000% of its initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be 110.000% of the face amount of your notes, as shown in the table above. In addition, if the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier were determined to be 175.000% of its initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be limited to 158.000% of each $1,000 face amount of your notes, as shown in the table above.  As a result, if you held your notes to the stated maturity date, the cash settlement amount will be capped, and you would not benefit from any increase in the final underlier level over the initial underlier level.

The cash settlement amounts shown above are entirely hypothetical; they are based on market prices for the underlier stocks that may not be achieved on the determination date and on assumptions that may prove to be erroneous.  The actual market value of your notes on the stated maturity date or at any other time, including any time you may wish to sell your notes, may bear little relation to the hypothetical cash settlement amounts shown above, and these amounts should not be viewed as an indication of the financial return on an investment in the offered notes.  The hypothetical cash settlement amounts on notes held to the stated maturity date in the examples above assume you purchased your notes at their face amount and have not been adjusted to reflect the actual issue price you pay for your notes. The return on your investment (whether positive or negative) in your notes will be affected by the amount you pay for your notes. If you purchase your notes for a price other than the face amount, the return on your investment will differ from, and may be significantly lower than, the hypothetical returns suggested by the above examples. Please read “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” on page S-3 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734.

Payments on the notes are economically equivalent to the amounts that would be paid on a combination of other instruments. For example, payments on the notes are economically equivalent to a combination of an interest-bearing bond bought by the holder and one or more options entered into between the holder and us (with one or more implicit option premiums paid over time). The discussion in this paragraph does not modify or affect the terms of the notes or the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the notes, as described elsewhere in this pricing supplement.

PS-8

We cannot predict the actual closing levels of the underliers on any day, the final underlier levels or what the market value of your notes will be on any particular trading day, nor can we predict the relationship between the closing levels of the underliers and the market value of your notes at any time prior to the stated maturity date. The actual amount that you will receive on a call payment date or the stated maturity date, if any, and the rate of return on the offered notes will depend on whether or not the notes are automatically called and the actual closing levels of the underliers on the call observation dates and the actual final underlier levels determined by the calculation agent as described above. Moreover, the assumptions on which the hypothetical examples are based may turn out to be inaccurate. Consequently, the cash amount to be paid in respect of your notes on a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as applicable, may be very different from the information reflected in the examples above.

PS-9

ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS SPECIFIC TO YOUR NOTES

An investment in your notes is subject to the risks described below, as well as the risks and considerations described in the accompanying prospectus, in the accompanying prospectus supplement and under “Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes” in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734. You should carefully review these risks and considerations as well as the terms of the notes described herein and in the accompanying prospectus, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734. Your notes are a riskier investment than ordinary debt securities. Also, your notes are not equivalent to investing directly in the underlier stocks, i.e., with respect to an underlier to which your notes are linked, the stocks comprising such underlier. You should carefully consider whether the offered notes are suited to your particular circumstances.

The Estimated Value of Your Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes

The original issue price for your notes exceeds the estimated value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date, as determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models and taking into account our credit spreads. Such estimated value on the trade date is set forth above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”; after the trade date, the estimated value as determined by reference to these models will be affected by changes in market conditions, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as issuer, the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, and other relevant factors. The price at which GS&Co. would initially buy or sell your notes (if GS&Co. makes a market, which it is not obligated to do), and the value that GS&Co. will initially use for account statements and otherwise, also exceeds the estimated value of your notes as determined by reference to these models. As agreed by GS&Co. and the distribution participants, this excess (i.e., the additional amount described under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”) will decline to zero on a straight line basis over the period from the date hereof through the applicable date set forth above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”. Thereafter, if GS&Co. buys or sells your notes it will do so at prices that reflect the estimated value determined by reference to such pricing models at that time. The price at which GS&Co. will buy or sell your notes at any time also will reflect its then current bid and ask spread for similar sized trades of structured notes.

In estimating the value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date, as disclosed above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”, GS&Co.’s pricing models consider certain variables, including principally our credit spreads, interest rates (forecasted, current and historical rates), volatility, price-sensitivity analysis and the time to maturity of the notes. These pricing models are proprietary and rely in part on certain assumptions about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. As a result, the actual value you would receive if you sold your notes in the secondary market, if any, to others may differ, perhaps materially, from the estimated value of your notes determined by reference to our models due to, among other things, any differences in pricing models or assumptions used by others. See “Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes — The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” on page S-3 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734.

The difference between the estimated value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date and the original issue price is a result of certain factors, including principally the underwriting discount and commissions, the expenses incurred in creating, documenting and marketing the notes, and an estimate of the difference between the amounts we pay to GS&Co. and the amounts GS&Co. pays to us in connection with your notes. We pay to GS&Co. amounts based on what we would pay to holders of a non-structured note with a similar maturity.  In return for such payment, GS&Co. pays to us the amounts we owe under your notes.

In addition to the factors discussed above, the value and quoted price of your notes at any time will reflect many factors and cannot be predicted.  If GS&Co. makes a market in the notes, the price quoted by GS&Co. would reflect any changes in market conditions and other relevant factors, including any deterioration in our creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness or the creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. These changes may adversely affect the value of your

PS-10

notes, including the price you may receive for your notes in any market making transaction. To the extent that GS&Co. makes a market in the notes, the quoted price will reflect the estimated value determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models at that time, plus or minus its then current bid and ask spread for similar sized trades of structured notes (and subject to the declining excess amount described above).

Furthermore, if you sell your notes, you will likely be charged a commission for secondary market transactions, or the price will likely reflect a dealer discount.  This commission or discount will further reduce the proceeds you would receive for your notes in a secondary market sale.

There is no assurance that GS&Co. or any other party will be willing to purchase your notes at any price and, in this regard, GS&Co. is not obligated to make a market in the notes.  See “— Your Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market” below.

The Underwriting Discount and Commissions, Including the Structuring Fee and Marketing Fee, and Other Expenses, Result in Less Favorable Economic Terms of the Notes and Could Adversely Affect Any Secondary Market Price for the Notes

The economic terms of the notes, as well as the difference between the estimated value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date and the original issue price, take into consideration, among other expenses, the underwriting discount and commissions, including the structuring fee and marketing fee, paid in connection with the notes. Therefore, the economic terms of the notes are less favorable to you than they would have been if these expenses had not been paid or had been lower. Further, the price, if any, at which GS&Co. will buy or sell your notes (if GS&Co. makes a market, which it is not obligated to do) at any time will reflect, among other things, the economic terms of the notes. Therefore, the secondary market price for the notes could also be adversely affected by the underwriting discount and commissions, including the structuring fee and marketing fee, and other expenses paid in connection with the notes. See “The Estimated Value of Your Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes” above.

The Notes Are Subject to the Credit Risk of the Issuer and the Guarantor

Although the return on the notes will be based on the performance of each underlier, the payment of any amount due on the notes is subject to the credit risk of GS Finance Corp., as issuer of the notes, and the credit risk of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor of the notes . The notes are our unsecured obligations.  Investors are dependent on our ability to pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore investors are subject to our credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of our creditworthiness. Similarly, investors are dependent on the ability of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor of the notes, to pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore are also subject to its credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of its creditworthiness.  See “Description of the Notes We May Offer — Information About Our Medium-Term Notes, Series E Program — How the Notes Rank Against Other Debt” on page S-4 of the accompanying prospectus supplement and “Description of Debt Securities We May Offer— Guarantee by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.” on page 42 of the accompanying prospectus.

You May Lose Your Entire Investment in the Notes

You can lose your entire investment in the notes. Assuming your notes are not automatically called, the cash settlement amount on your notes, if any, on the stated maturity date will be based on the performance of the lesser performing of the EURO STOXX 50^® Index and the S&P 500^® Index, in each case as measured from their initial underlier levelsto their closing levels on the determination date.  If the underlier return of any underlier is less than -30%, you will have a loss for each $1,000 of the face amount of your notes equal to the product of the lesser performing underlier return times $1,000. Thus, you may lose your entire investment in the notes, which would include any premium to face amount you paid when you purchased the notes.

Also, the market price of your notes prior to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, may be significantly lower than the purchase price you pay for your notes.  Consequently, if you sell your notes before the stated maturity date, you may receive far less than the amount of your investment in the notes.

PS-11

The Cash Settlement Amount You Will Receive on a Call Payment Date or on the Stated Maturity Date, as the Case May Be, Will Be Capped

Regardless of the closing levels of the underliers on each of the call observation dates, the cash settlement amount you may receive on a call payment date is capped. Even if the closing level of each underlier on a call observation date exceeds its initial underlier level, causing the notes to be automatically called on such day, the cash settlement amount on the call payment date will be capped, and you will not benefit from any increase in the closing level of any underlier above the initial underlier level on a call observation date. If your notes are automatically called on a call observation date, the maximum payment you will receive for each $1,000 face amount of your notes will depend on the applicable call premium amount.  In addition, the cash settlement amount you may receive on the stated maturity date is capped.

Your Notes Are Subject to Automatic Redemption

We will automatically call and redeem all, but not part, of your notes on the corresponding call payment date if, as measured on any call observation date, the closing level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its initial underlier level. Therefore, the term for your notes may be reduced to approximately one year after the original issue date. You may not be able to reinvest the proceeds from an investment in the notes at a comparable return for a similar level of risk in the event the notes are automatically called prior to maturity.

The Cash Settlement Amount You Will Receive on a Call Payment Date or on the Stated Maturity Date is Not Linked to the Closing Level of the Underliers at Any Time Other Than on the Applicable Call Observation Date or on the Determination Date, as the Case May Be

The cash settlement amount you will receive on a call payment date, if any, will be paid only if the closing level of each underlier on the applicable call observation date is equal to or greater than its initial underlier level.  Therefore, the closing levels of the underliers on dates other than the call observation dates will have no effect on any cash settlement amount paid in respect of your notes on the call payment date.  In addition, the cash settlement amount you will receive on the stated maturity date, if any, will be based on the closing level of the underliers on the determination date (which is subject to postponement in case of market disruption events or non-trading days), and therefore not the simple performance of the underliers over the life of your notes.  Therefore, if the closing level of the underliers dropped precipitously on the determination date, the cash settlement amount for your notes may be significantly less than it would have been had the cash settlement amount been linked to the closing level of the underliers prior to such drop in the level of the underliers.

The Cash Settlement Amount Will Be Based Solely on the Lesser Performing Underlier

If the notes are not automatically called, the cash settlement amount will be based on the lesser performing underlier without regard to the performance of the other underlier. As a result, you could lose all or some of your initial investment if the lesser performing underlier return is negative, even if there is an increase in the level of the other underlier.  This could be the case even if the other underlier increased by an amount greater than the decrease in the lesser performing underlier.

Your Notes Do Not Bear Interest

You will not receive any interest payments on your notes. As a result, even if the cash settlement amount payable for your notes on a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as applicable, exceeds the face amount of your notes, the overall return you earn on your notes may be less than you would have earned by investing in a non-indexed debt security of comparable maturity that bears interest at a prevailing market rate.

The Return on Your Notes May Change Significantly Despite Only a Small Change in the Final Underlier Level of the Lesser Performing Underlier

If the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier is less than 70% of its initial underlier level, you will receive less than the face amount of your notes and you could lose all or a substantial portion of your investment in the notes. This means that while a 30% drop between the initial underlier level of the lesser performing underlier and its final underlier level will result in a cash settlement amount equal to 110% of the face amount of your notes, a decrease in the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier to less than 70% of its initial underlier level will result in a loss of a significant portion of your investment in the notes despite only a small change in the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier.

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If You Purchase Your Notes at a Premium to Face Amount, the Return on Your Investment Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes Purchased at Face Amount and the Impact of Certain Key Terms of the Notes Will Be Negatively Affected

The cash settlement amount you will be paid for your notes on the stated maturity date, if any, or the amount you will be paid on a call payment date will not be adjusted based on the issue price you pay for the notes. If you purchase notes at a price that differs from the face amount of the notes, then the return on your investment in such notes held to a call payment date or the stated maturity date will differ from, and may be substantially less than, the return on notes purchased at face amount. If you purchase your notes at a premium to face amount and hold them to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, the return on your investment in the notes will be lower than it would have been had you purchased the notes at face amount or a discount to face amount.

Your Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market

Your notes will not be listed or displayed on any securities exchange or included in any interdealer market quotation system, and there may be little or no secondary market for your notes. Even if a secondary market for your notes develops, it may not provide significant liquidity and we expect that transaction costs in any secondary market would be high. As a result, the difference between bid and asked prices for your notes in any secondary market could be substantial.

We May Sell an Additional Aggregate Face Amount of the Notes at a Different Issue Price

At our sole option, we may decide to sell an additional aggregate face amount of the notes subsequent to the date of this pricing supplement. The issue price of the notes in the subsequent sale may differ substantially (higher or lower) from the issue price you paid as provided on the cover of this pricing supplement.

You Have No Shareholder Rights or Rights to Receive Any Underlier Stock

Investing in your notes will not make you a holder of any of the underlier stocks. Neither you nor any other holder or owner of your notes will have any rights with respect to the underlier stocks, including any voting rights, any right to receive dividends or other distributions, any rights to make a claim against the underlier stocks or any other rights of a holder of the underlier stocks. Your notes will be paid in cash and you will have no right to receive delivery of any underlier stocks.

An Investment in the Offered Notes Is Subject to Risks Associated with Foreign Securities

The value of your notes is linked in part to the EURO STOXX 50^® Index, which is comprised of stocks from one or more foreign securities markets. Investments linked to the value of foreign equity securities involve particular risks. Any foreign securities market may be less liquid, more volatile and affected by global or domestic market developments in a different way than are the U.S. securities market or other foreign securities markets. Both government intervention in a foreign securities market, either directly or indirectly, and cross-shareholdings in foreign companies, may affect trading prices and volumes in that market. Also, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign companies than about those U.S. companies that are subject to the reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Further, foreign companies are subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements that differ from those applicable to U.S. reporting companies.

The prices of securities in a foreign country are subject to political, economic, financial and social factors that are unique to such foreign country's geographical region. These factors include: recent changes, or the possibility of future changes, in the applicable foreign government's economic and fiscal policies; the possible implementation of, or changes in, currency exchange laws or other laws or restrictions applicable to foreign companies or investments in foreign equity securities; fluctuations, or the possibility of fluctuations, in currency exchange rates; and the possibility of outbreaks of hostility, political instability, natural disaster or adverse public health developments. The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union (popularly known as “Brexit”). The effect of Brexit is uncertain, and Brexit has and may continue to contribute to volatility in the prices of securities of companies located in Europe and currency exchange rates, including the valuation of the euro and British pound in particular. Any one of these factors, or the combination of more than one of these factors, could negatively affect such foreign securities market

PS-13

and the price of securities therein. Further, geographical regions may react to global factors in different ways, which may cause the prices of securities in a foreign securities market to fluctuate in a way that differs from those of securities in the U.S. securities market or other foreign securities markets. Foreign economies may also differ from the U.S. economy in important respects, including growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources and self-sufficiency, which may have a positive or negative effect on foreign securities prices.

The Tax Consequences of an Investment in Your Notes Are Uncertain

The tax consequences of an investment in your notes are uncertain, both as to the timing and character of any inclusion in income in respect of your notes.

The Internal Revenue Service announced on December 7, 2007 that it is considering issuing guidance regarding the tax treatment of an instrument such as your notes, and any such guidance could adversely affect the value and the tax treatment of your notes. Among other things, the Internal Revenue Service may decide to require the holders to accrue ordinary income on a current basis and recognize ordinary income on payment at maturity, and could subject non-U.S. investors to withholding tax. Furthermore, in 2007, legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted, would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the term of such instruments even though there will be no interest payments over the term of such instruments.  It is not possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill will be enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would affect the tax treatment of your notes.  We describe these developments in more detail under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences – United States Holders – Possible Change in Law” below. You should consult your tax advisor about this matter. Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, GS Finance Corp. intends to continue treating the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes in accordance with the treatment described under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” on page PS-25 below unless and until such time as Congress, the Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service determine that some other treatment is more appropriate.  Please also consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax and any other applicable tax consequences to you of owning your notes in your particular circumstances.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding May Apply to Payments on Your Notes, Including as a Result of the Failure of the Bank or Broker Through Which You Hold the Notes to Provide Information to Tax Authorities

Please see the discussion under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus for a description of the applicability of FATCA to payments made on your notes.

PS-14

THE UNDERLIERS

The EURO STOXX 50^® Index

The EURO STOXX 50^® Index is a free-float market capitalization-weighted index of 50 European blue-chip stocks and was created by and is sponsored and maintained by STOXX Limited. Publication of the EURO STOXX 50^® Index began on February 26, 1998, based on an initial index value of 1,000 at December 31, 1991. The level of the EURO STOXX 50^® Index is disseminated on the STOXX Limited website. STOXX Limited is under no obligation to continue to publish the index and may discontinue publication of it at any time. Additional information regarding the EURO STOXX 50^® Index may be obtained from the STOXX Limited website: stoxx.com. We are not incorporating by reference the website or any material it includes in this pricing supplement.

The top ten constituent stocks of the EURO STOXX 50^® Index as of May 3, 2018, by weight, are: Total S.A. (5.43%), SAP SE (4.20%), Siemens AG (3.78%), Allianz SE (3.59%), Banco Santander S.A. (3.56%), Bayer AG (3.42%), BASF SE (3.26%), LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (3.25%), Sanofi (3.08%) and BNP Paribas S.A. (3.02%); constituent weights may be found at stoxx.com/download/indices/factsheets/SX5GT.pdf under “Factsheets and Methodologies” and are updated periodically.

As of May 3, 2018, the sixteen industry sectors which comprise the EURO STOXX 50^® Index represent the following weights in the index: Automobiles & Parts (5.29%), Banks (14.91%), Chemicals (5.17%), Construction & Materials (3.96%), Food & Beverage (4.23%), Health Care (10.02%), Industrial Goods & Services (10.72%), Insurance (6.75%), Media (0.97%), Oil & Gas (7.12%), Personal & Household Goods (9.65%), Real Estate (0.82%), Retail (2.17%), Technology (8.18%), Telecommunications (4.79%) and Utilities (5.25%); industry weightings may be found at stoxx.com/download/indices/factsheets/SX5GT.pdf under “Factsheets and Methodologies” and are updated periodically. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Sector designations are determined by the underlier sponsor using criteria it has selected or developed. Index sponsors may use very different standards for determining sector designations. In addition, many companies operate in a number of sectors, but are listed in only one sector and the basis on which that sector is selected may also differ. As a result, sector comparisons between indices with different index sponsors may reflect differences in methodology as well as actual differences in the sector composition of the indices.

As of May 3, 2018, the eight countries which comprise the EURO STOXX 50^® Index represent the following weights in the index: Belgium (2.47%), Finland (1.13%), France (37.47%), Germany (32.44%), Ireland (1.03%), Italy (5.30%), Netherlands (10.37%) and Spain (9.78%); country weightings may be found at stoxx.com/download/indices/factsheets/SX5GT.pdf under “Factsheets and Methodologies” and are updated periodically.

The above information supplements the description of the underlier found in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734. This information was derived from information prepared by the underlier sponsor, however, the percentages we have listed above are approximate and may not match the information available on the underlier sponsor's website due to subsequent corporation actions or other activity relating to a particular stock.  For more details about the underlier , the underlier sponsor and license agreement between the underlier sponsor and the issuer, see “The Underliers — EURO STOXX 50^® Index” on page S-75 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734.

The EURO STOXX 50^® is the intellectual property of STOXX Limited, Zurich, Switzerland and/or its licensors (“Licensors”), which is used under license. The securities or other financial instruments based on the index are in no way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by STOXX and its Licensors and neither STOXX nor its Licensors shall have any liability with respect thereto.

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The S&P 500^® Index

The S&P 500^® Index includes a representative sample of 500 companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The 500 companies are not the 500 largest companies listed on the NYSE and not all 500 companies are listed on the NYSE. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P”) chooses companies for inclusion in the S&P 500^® Index with an aim of achieving a distribution by broad industry groupings that approximates the distribution of these groupings in the common stock population of the U.S. equity market.  Although the S&P 500^® Index contains 500 constituent companies, at any one time it may contain greater than 500 constituent trading lines since some companies included in the S&P 500^® Index prior to July 31, 2017 may be represented by multiple share class lines in the S&P 500^® Index.  The S&P 500^® Index is calculated, maintained and published by S&P and is part of the S&P Dow Jones Indices family of indices. Additional information is available on the following websites: us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500 and spdji.com/. We are not incorporating by reference the websites or any material they include in this prospectus supplement.

S&P intends for the S&P 500^® Index to provide a performance benchmark for the large-cap U.S. equity markets. Constituent changes are made on an as-needed basis and there is no schedule for constituent reviews. Constituent changes are generally announced one to five business days prior to the change. Relevant criteria for additions to the S&P 500^® Index that are employed by S&P include: the company proposed for addition should have an unadjusted company market capitalization of $6.1 billion or more (for spin-offs, eligibility is determined using when-issued prices, if available); using composite pricing and volume, the ratio of annual dollar value traded in the proposed constituent to float-adjusted market capitalization of that company should be 1.00 or greater and the stock should trade a minimum of 250,000 shares in each of the six months leading up to the evaluation date; the company must be a U.S. company (characterized as a Form 10-K filer with its U.S. portion of fixed assets and revenues constituting a plurality of the total and with a primary listing of the common stock on the NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE American (formerly NYSE MKT), NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Select Market, NASDAQ Capital Market, Bats BZX, Bats BYX, Bats EDGA, Bats EDGX or IEX (each, an “eligible exchange”)); the proposed constituent has a public float of 50% or more of its stock; the inclusion of the company will contribute to sector balance in the index relative to sector balance in the market in the relevant market capitalization range; financial viability (the sum of the most recent four consecutive quarters’ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) earnings (net income excluding discontinued operations) should be positive as should the most recent quarter); and, for IPOs, the company must be traded on an eligible exchange for at least twelve months. In addition, constituents of the S&P MidCap 400^® Index and the S&P SmallCap 600^® Index can be added to the S&P 500^® Index without meeting the financial viability, public float and/or liquidity eligibility criteria if the S&P Index Committee decides that such an addition will enhance the representativeness of the S&P 500^® Index as a market benchmark. Certain types of organizational structures and securities are always excluded, including business development companies (BDCs), limited partnerships, master limited partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), OTC bulletin board issues, closed-end funds, ETFs, ETNs, royalty trusts, tracking stocks, preferred stock and convertible preferred stock, unit trusts, equity warrants, convertible bonds, investment trusts, rights and American depositary receipts (ADRs). Stocks are deleted from the S&P 500^® Index when they are involved in mergers, acquisitions or significant restructurings such that they no longer meet the inclusion criteria, and when they substantially violate one or more of the addition criteria. Stocks that are delisted or moved to the pink sheets or the bulletin board are removed, and those that experience a trading halt may be retained or removed in S&P’s discretion. S&P evaluates additions and deletions with a view to maintaining S&P 500^® Index continuity.

For constituents included in the S&P 500^® Index prior to July 31, 2017, all publicly listed multiple share class lines are included separately in the S&P 500^® Index, subject to, in the case of any such share class line, that share class line satisfying the liquidity and float criteria discussed above and subject to certain exceptions.  It is possible that one listed share class line of a company may be included in the S&P 500^® Index while a second listed share class line of the same company is excluded.  For companies that issue a second publicly traded share class to index share class holders, the newly issued share class line is considered for inclusion if the event is mandatory and the market capitalization of the distributed class is not considered to be de minimis.

PS-16

As of July 31, 2017, companies with multiple share class lines are no longer eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500^® Index.  Constituents of the S&P 500^® Index prior to July 31, 2017 with multiple share class lines will be grandfathered in and continue to be included in the S&P 500^® Index. If a constituent company of the S&P 500^® Index reorganizes into a multiple share class line structure, that company will remain in the S&P 500^® Index at the discretion of the S&P Index Committee in order to minimize turnover.

As of May 11, 2018, the 500 companies included in the S&P 500^® Index were divided into eleven Global Industry Classification Sectors. The Global Industry Classification Sectors include (with the approximate percentage currently included in such sectors indicated in parentheses): Consumer Discretionary (12.72%), Consumer Staples (6.63%), Energy (6.29%), Financials (14.65%), Health Care (13.86%), Industrials (9.89%), Information Technology (25.81%), Materials (2.86%), Real Estate (2.72%), Telecommunication Services (1.80%) and Utilities (2.76%). (Sector designations are determined by the index sponsor using criteria it has selected or developed. Index sponsors may use very different standards for determining sector designations. In addition, many companies operate in a number of sectors, but are listed in only one sector and the basis on which that sector is selected may also differ. As a result, sector comparisons between indices with different index sponsors may reflect differences in methodology as well as actual differences in the sector composition of the indices.) S&P and MSCI, Inc. have announced that the Global Industry Classification Sector structure is expected to be updated after the close of business on September 28, 2018. Among other things, the update is expected to broaden the current Telecommunications Services sector and rename it the Communication Services sector. The renamed sector is expected to include the existing telecommunication companies, as well as companies selected from the Consumer Discretionary sector currently classified under the Media Industry group and the Internet & Direct Marketing Retail sub-industry, along with select companies currently classified in the Information Technology sector. Further, companies that operate online marketplaces for consumer products and services are expected to be included under the Internet & Direct Marketing sub-industry of the Consumer Discretionary sector, regardless of whether they hold inventory.

Calculation of the S&P 500^® Index

The S&P 500^® Index is calculated using a base-weighted aggregative methodology. The value of the S&P 500^® Index on any day for which an index value is published is determined by a fraction, the numerator of which is the aggregate of the market price of each stock in the S&P 500^® Index times the number of shares of such stock included in the S&P 500^® Index, and the denominator of which is the divisor, which is described more fully below. The “market value” of any index stock is the product of the market price per share of that stock times the number of the then-outstanding shares of such index stock that are then included in the S&P 500^® Index .

The S&P 500^® Index is also sometimes called a “base-weighted aggregative index” because of its use of a divisor. The “divisor” is a value calculated by S&P that is intended to maintain conformity in index values over time and is adjusted for all changes in the index stocks’ share capital after the “base date” as described below. The level of the S&P 500^® Index reflects the total market value of all index stocks relative to the S&P 500^® Index’s base date of 1941-43.

In addition, the S&P 500^® Index is float-adjusted, meaning that the share counts used in calculating the S&P 500^® Index reflect only those shares available to investors rather than all of a company’s outstanding shares. S&P seeks to exclude shares held by certain shareholders concerned with the control of a company, a group that generally includes the following: officers and directors and related individuals whose holdings are publicly disclosed, private equity, venture capital, special equity firms, publicly traded companies that hold shares for control in another company, strategic partners, holders of restricted shares, employee stock ownership plans, employee and family trusts, foundations associated with the company, holders of unlisted share classes of stock, government entities at all levels (except government retirement or pension funds) and any individual person listed as a 5% or greater stakeholder in a company as reported in regulatory filings (collectively, “control holders”). To this end, S&P excludes all share-holdings (other than depositary banks, pension funds, mutual funds, exchange traded fund providers, 401(k) plans of the company, government retirement and pension funds, investment funds of insurance companies, asset managers and investment funds, independent foundations, savings plans and investment plans) with a position greater than 5% of the outstanding shares of a company from the float-adjusted share count to be used in S&P 500^® Index calculations.

PS-17

The exclusion is accomplished by calculating an Investable Weight Factor (IWF) for each stock that is part of the numerator of the float-adjusted index fraction described above:

IWF = (available float shares)/(total shares outstanding)

where available float shares is defined as total shares outstanding less shares held by control holders. In most cases, an IWF is reported to the nearest one percentage point. For companies with multiple share class lines, a separate IWF is calculated for each share class line.

Maintenance of the S&P 500^® Index

In order to keep the S&P 500^® Index comparable over time S&P engages in an index maintenance process. The S&P 500^® Index maintenance process involves changing the constituents as discussed above, and also involves maintaining quality assurance processes and procedures, adjusting the number of shares used to calculate the S&P 500^® Index, monitoring and completing the adjustments for company additions and deletions, adjusting for stock splits and stock dividends and adjusting for other corporate actions. In addition to its daily governance of indices and maintenance of the S&P 500^® Index methodology, at least once within any 12 month period, the S&P Index Committee reviews the S&P 500^® Index methodology to ensure the S&P 500^® Index continues to achieve the stated objective, and that the data and methodology remain effective. The S&P Index Committee may at times consult with investors, market participants, security issuers included in or potentially included in the S&P 500^® Index, or investment and financial experts.

Divisor Adjustments

The two types of adjustments primarily used by S&P are divisor adjustments and adjustments to the number of shares (including float adjustments) used to calculate the S&P 500^® Index. Set forth below is a table of certain corporate events and their resulting effect on the divisor and the share count. If a corporate event requires an adjustment to the divisor, that event has the effect of altering the market value of the affected index stock and consequently of altering the aggregate market value of the index stocks following the event. In order that the level of the S&P 500^® Index not be affected by the altered market value (which could be an increase or decrease) of the affected index stock, S&P generally derives a new divisor by dividing the post-event market value of the index stocks by the pre-event index value, which has the effect of reducing the S&P 500^® Index’s post-event value to the pre-event level.

Changes to the Number of Shares of a Constituent

The S&P 500^® Index maintenance process also involves tracking the changes in the number of shares included for each of the index companies. The timing of adjustments to the number of shares depends on the type of event causing the change, and whether the change represents 5% or more of  the total share count (for companies with multiple share class lines, the 5% threshold is based on each individual share class line rather than total company shares). Changes as a result of mergers or acquisitions are implemented when the transaction occurs. At S&P’s discretion, however, de minimis merger and acquisition changes may be accumulated and implemented with the updates made at the quarterly share updates as described below. Changes in a constituent’s total shares of 5% or more due to public offerings (which must be underwritten, have a publicly available prospectus or prospectus summary filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include a public confirmation that the offering has been completed) are implemented as soon as reasonably possible. Other changes of 5% or more are made weekly and are announced on Fridays for implementation after the close of trading on the following Friday. For changes of less than 5%, on the third Friday of the last month in each calendar quarter, S&P updates the share totals of companies in the S&P 500^® Index as required by any changes in the number of shares outstanding. S&P implements a share / IWF freeze beginning after the market close on the Tuesday preceding the second Friday of each quarterly rebalancing month and ending after the market close on the third Friday of the quarterly rebalancing month. During this frozen period, shares and IWFs are not changed except for certain corporate action events (merger activity, stock splits and rights offerings).

PS-18

Adjustments for Corporate Actions

There is a large range of corporate actions that may affect companies included in the S&P 500^® Index. Certain corporate actions require S&P to recalculate the share count or the float adjustment or to make an adjustment to the divisor to prevent the value of the S&P 500^® Index from changing as a result of the corporate action. This helps ensure that the movement of the S&P 500^® Index does not reflect the corporate actions of individual companies in the S&P 500^® Index.

Spin-Offs

As a general policy, a spin-off security is added to the S&P 500^® Index at a zero price at the market close of the day before the ex-date (with no divisor adjustment).  The spin-off security will remain in the S&P 500^® Index if it meets all eligibility criteria.  If the spin-off security is determined ineligible to remain in the S&P 500^® Index, it will generally be removed after at least one day of regular way trading (with a divisor adjustment).  If there is a gap between the ex-date and distribution date (or payable date), or if the spin-off security does not trade regular way on the ex-date, the spin-off security is kept in the S&P 500^® Index until the spin-off security begins trading regular way.

Several additional types of corporate actions, and their related adjustments, are listed in the table below.

Corporate Action	Share Count Revision Required?	Divisor Adjustment  Required?
Stock split	Yes – share count is revised to reflect new count.	No – share count and price changes are off-setting
Change in shares outstanding (secondary issuance, share repurchase and/or share buy-back)	Yes – share count is revised to reflect new count.	Yes
Special dividends	No	Yes – calculation assumes that share price drops by the amount of the dividend; divisor adjustment reflects this change in index market value
Change in IWF	No	Yes – divisor change reflects the change in market value caused by the change to an IWF
Company added to or deleted from the S&P 500® Index	No	Yes – divisor is adjusted by the net change in market value, calculated as the shares issued multiplied by the price paid
Rights Offering	No	Yes – divisor adjustment reflects increase in market capitalization (calculation assumes that offering is fully subscribed)

Recalculation Policy

S&P reserves the right to recalculate and republish the S&P 500^® Index at its discretion in the event one of the following issues has occurred: (1) incorrect or revised closing price of one or more constituent securities; (2) missed corporate event; (3) incorrect application of corporate action or index methodology; (4) late announcement of a corporate event; or (5) incorrect calculation or data entry error. The decision to recalculate the S&P 500^® Index is made at the discretion of the index manager and/or index committee, as further discussed below.  The potential market impact or disruption resulting from the potential recalculation is considered when making any such decision.  In the event of an incorrect closing price, a missed corporate event or a misapplied corporate action, a late announcement of a corporate event, or an incorrect calculation or data entry error that is discovered within two trading days of its occurrence, the index manager may, at his or her discretion, recalculate the S&P 500^® Index without involving the index committee.  In the event any such event is discovered beyond the two trading day period, the index

PS-19

committee shall decide whether the S&P 500^® Index should be recalculated. In the event of an incorrect application of the methodology that results in the incorrect composition and/or weighting of index constituents, the index committee shall determine whether or not to recalculate the S&P 500^® Index following specified guidelines. In the event that the S&P 500^® Index is recalculated, it shall be done within a reasonable timeframe following the detection and review of the issue.

Calculations and Pricing Disruptions

Closing levels for the S&P 500^® Index are calculated by S&P based on the closing price of the individual constituents of the S&P 500^® Index as set by their primary exchange. Closing prices are received by S&P from one of its third party vendors and verified by comparing them with prices from an alternative vendor. The vendors receive the closing price from the primary exchanges. Real-time intraday prices are calculated similarly without a second verification. Prices used for the calculation of real time index values are based on the “Consolidated Tape”. The Consolidated Tape is an aggregation of trades for each constituent over all regional exchanges and trading venues and includes the primary exchange. If there is a failure or interruption on one or more exchanges, real-time calculations will continue as long as the “Consolidated Tape” is operational.

If an interruption is not resolved prior to the market close, official closing prices will be determined by following the hierarchy set out in NYSE Rule 123C. A notice is published on the S&P Web site at spdji.com indicating any changes to the prices used in S&P 500^® Index calculations. In extreme circumstances, S&P may decide to delay index adjustments or not publish the S&P 500^® Index. Real-time indices are not restated.

Unexpected Exchange Closures

An unexpected market/exchange closure occurs when a market/exchange fully or partially fails to open or trading is temporarily halted. This can apply to a single exchange or to a market as a whole, when all of the primary exchanges are closed and/or not trading. Unexpected market/exchange closures are usually due to unforeseen circumstances, such as natural disasters, inclement weather, outages, or other events.

To a large degree, S&P is dependent on the exchanges to provide guidance in the event of an unexpected exchange closure. S&P’s decision making is dependent on exchange guidance regarding pricing and mandatory corporate actions.

NYSE Rule 123C provides closing contingency procedures for determining an official closing price for listed securities if the exchange is unable to conduct a closing transaction in one or more securities due to a system or technical issue.

3:00 PM ET is the deadline for an exchange to determine its plan of action regarding an outage scenario. As such, S&P also uses 3:00 PM ET as the cutoff.

If all major exchanges fail to open or unexpectedly halt trading intraday due to unforeseen circumstances, S&P will take the following actions:

Market Disruption Prior to Open of Trading:

(i) If all exchanges indicate that trading will not open for a given day, S&P will treat the day as an unscheduled market holiday. The decision will be communicated to clients as soon as possible through the normal channels. Indices containing multiple markets will be calculated as normal, provided that at least one market is open that day. Indices which only contain closed markets will not be calculated.

(ii) If exchanges indicate that trading, although delayed, will open for a given day, S&P will begin index calculation when the exchanges open.

Market Disruption Intraday:

PS-20

(i) If exchanges indicate that trading will not resume for a given day, the S&P 500^® Index level will be calculated using prices determined by the exchanges based on NYSE Rule 123C. Intraday S&P 500^® Index values will continue to use the last traded composite price until the primary exchange publishes official closing prices.

License Agreement between S&P and GS Finance Corp.

The S&P 500^® Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, and has been licensed for use by GS Finance Corp. (“Goldman”). Standard & Poor’s^® and S&P^® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones^® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”) and these trademarks have been licensed for use by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and sublicensed for certain purposes by Goldman.Goldman’s notes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC or any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the notes or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the notes particularly or the ability of the S&P 500^® Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to Goldman with respect to the S&P 500^® Index is the licensing of the S&P 500^® Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The S&P 500^® Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to Goldman or the notes. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of Goldman or the owners of the notes into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P 500^® Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the notes or the timing of the issuance or sale of the notes or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the notes are to be converted into cash. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the notes. There is no assurance that investment products based on the S&P 500^® Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE S&P 500^® INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY GOLDMAN, OWNERS OF THE NOTES, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE S&P 500^® INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND GOLDMAN, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

PS-21

Historical Closing Levels of the Underliers

The closing levels of the underliers have fluctuated in the past and may, in the future, experience significant fluctuations.  Any historical upward or downward trend in the closing level of either underlier during the period shown below is not an indication that such underlier is more or less likely to increase or decrease at any time during the life of your notes.

You should not take the historical closing levels of an underlier as an indication of the future performance of an underlier.  We cannot give you any assurance that the future performance of any underlier or the underlier stocks will result in you receiving the outstanding face amount of your notes on the stated maturity date.

Neither we nor any of our affiliates make any representation to you as to the performance of the underliers.  Before investing in the notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the underlier levels between the date of this pricing supplement and the date of your purchase of the notes.  The actual performance of an underlier over the life of the offered notes, as well as the cash settlement amount at maturity may bear little relation to the historical levels shown below.

The graphs below show the daily historical closing levels of each underlier from May 15, 2008 through May 15, 2018.  We obtained the levels in the graphs below from Bloomberg Financial Services, without independent verification.

PS-22

Historical Performance of the EURO STOXX 50^® Index

PS-23

Historical Performance of the S&P 500^® Index

PS-24

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCUSSION OF U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

The following section supplements the discussion of U.S. federal income taxation in the accompanying prospectus supplement.

The following section is the opinion of Sidley Austin llp, counsel to GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. In addition, it is the opinion of Sidley Austin llp that the characterization of the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes that will be required under the terms of the notes, as discussed below, is a reasonable interpretation of current law.

This section does not apply to you if you are a member of a class of holders subject to special rules, such as:

· a dealer in securities or currencies;

· a trader in securities that elects to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for your securities holdings;

· a bank;

· a life insurance company;

· a tax exempt organization;

· a partnership;

· a regulated investment company;

· an accrual method taxpayer subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of its use of financial statements;

· a person that owns a note as a hedge or that is hedged against interest rate risks;

· a person that owns a note as part of a straddle or conversion transaction for tax purposes; or

· a United States holder (as defined below) whose functional currency for tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar.

Although this section is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, its legislative history, existing and proposed regulations under the Internal Revenue Code, published rulings and court decisions, all as currently in effect, no statutory, judicial or administrative authority directly addresses how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as a result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in your notes are uncertain. Moreover, these laws are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis.

You should consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax and any other applicable tax consequences of your investments in the notes, including the application of state, local or other tax laws and the possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.

United States Holders

This section applies to you only if you are a United States holder that holds your notes as a capital asset for tax purposes. You are a United States holder if you are a beneficial owner of each of your notes and you are:

· a citizen or resident of the United States;

· a domestic corporation;

· an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or

· a trust if a United States court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more United States persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust.

PS-25

Tax Treatment. You will be obligated pursuant to the terms of the notes — in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary — to characterize your notes for all tax purposes as pre-paid derivative contracts in respect of the underliers. Except as otherwise stated below, the discussion herein assumes that the notes will be so treated.

Upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, you should recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference, if any, between the amount of cash you receive at such time and your tax basis in your notes. Your tax basis in the notes will generally be equal to the amount that you paid for the notes. If you hold your notes for more than one year, the gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss.  If you hold your notes for one year or less, the gain or loss generally will be short-term capital gain or loss.  Short-term capital gains are generally subject to tax at the marginal tax rates applicable to ordinary income.

No statutory, judicial or administrative authority directly discusses how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in the notes are uncertain and alternative characterizations are possible. Accordingly, we urge you to consult your tax advisor in determining the tax consequences of an investment in your notes in your particular circumstances, including the application of state, local or other tax laws and the possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.

Alternative Treatments. There is no judicial or administrative authority discussing how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Therefore, the Internal Revenue Service might assert that a treatment other than that described above is more appropriate.  For example, the Internal Revenue Service could treat your notes as a single debt instrument subject to special rules governing contingent payment debt instruments. Under those rules, the amount of interest you are required to take into account for each accrual period would be determined by constructing a projected payment schedule for the notes and applying rules similar to those for accruing original issue discount on a hypothetical noncontingent debt instrument with that projected payment schedule. This method is applied by first determining the comparable yield – i.e., the yield at which we would issue a noncontingent fixed rate debt instrument with terms and conditions similar to your notes – and then determining a payment schedule as of the issue date that would produce the comparable yield. These rules may have the effect of requiring you to include interest in income in respect of your notes prior to your receipt of cash attributable to that income.

If the rules governing contingent payment debt instruments apply, any gain you recognize upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes would be treated as ordinary interest income. Any loss you recognize at that time would be ordinary loss to the extent of interest you included as income in the current or previous taxable years in respect of your notes, and, thereafter, capital loss.

If the rules governing contingent payment debt instruments apply, special rules would apply to a person who purchases notes at a price other than the adjusted issue price as determined for tax purposes.

It is also possible that your notes could be treated in the manner described above, except that any gain or loss that you recognize at maturity or upon redemption would be treated as ordinary gain or loss. You should consult your tax advisor as to the tax consequences of such characterization and any possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

It is possible that the Internal Revenue Service could seek to characterize your notes in a manner that results in tax consequences to you that are different from those described above. You should consult your tax advisor as to the tax consequences of any possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Possible Change in Law

On December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service released a notice stating that the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are actively considering issuing guidance regarding the proper U.S. federal income tax treatment of an instrument such as the offered notes, including whether holders should be required to accrue ordinary income on a current basis and whether gain or loss should be ordinary or capital. It is not possible to determine what guidance they will ultimately issue, if any. It is possible, however, that under such guidance, holders of the notes will ultimately be required to accrue income currently and this could be applied on a retroactive basis.  The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are also considering other relevant issues, including whether foreign holders of such

PS-26

instruments should be subject to withholding tax on any deemed income accruals and whether the special “constructive ownership rules” of Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code might be applied to such instruments.  Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors concerning the significance, and the potential impact, of the above considerations. Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, we intend to continue treating the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes in accordance with the treatment described above under “Tax Treatment” unless and until such time as Congress, the Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service determine that some other treatment is more appropriate. You are urged to consult your tax advisor as to the possibility that any legislative or administrative action may adversely affect the tax treatment and the value of your notes.

Furthermore, in 2007, legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted, would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the term of such instruments even though there will be no interest payments over the term of such instruments. It is not possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill will be enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would affect the tax treatment of your notes.

It is impossible to predict what any such legislation or administrative or regulatory guidance might provide, and whether the effective date of any legislation or guidance will affect notes that were issued before the date that such legislation or guidance is issued. You are urged to consult your tax advisor as to the possibility that any legislative or administrative action may adversely affect the tax treatment of your notes.

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

Please see the discussion under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Backup Withholding and Information Reporting—United States Holders” in the accompanying prospectus for a description of the applicability of the backup withholding and information reporting rules to payments made on your notes.

United States Alien Holders

This section applies to you only if you are a United States alien holder. You are a United States alien holder if you are the beneficial owner of notes and are, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

· a nonresident alien individual;

· a foreign corporation; or

· an estate or trust that in either case is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis on income or gain from the notes.

You will be subject to generally applicable information reporting and backup withholding requirements as discussed in the accompanying prospectus under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Backup Withholding and Information Reporting — United States Alien Holders” with respect to payments on your notes and, notwithstanding that we do not intend to treat the notes as debt for tax purposes, we intend to backup withhold on such payments with respect to your notes unless you comply with the requirements necessary to avoid backup withholding on debt instruments (in which case you will not be subject to such backup withholding) as set forth under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — United States Alien Holders” in the accompanying prospectus.

Furthermore, on December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2008-2 soliciting comments from the public on various issues, including whether instruments such as your notes should be subject to withholding. It is therefore possible that rules will be issued in the future, possibly with retroactive effect, that would cause payments on your notes at maturity or upon redemption to be subject to withholding, even if you comply with certification requirements as to your foreign status.

As discussed above, alternative characterizations of the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes are possible. Should an alternative characterization of the notes, by reason of a change or clarification of the law, by regulation or otherwise, cause payments at maturity or upon redemption with respect to the notes to become subject to withholding tax, we will withhold tax at the applicable statutory rate and we will not make payments of any additional amounts. Prospective United States alien holders of the notes should consult their tax advisors in this regard.

PS-27

In addition, the Treasury Department has issued regulations under which amounts paid or deemed paid on certain financial instruments (“871(m) financial instruments”) that are treated as attributable to U.S.-source dividends could be treated, in whole or in part depending on the circumstances, as a “dividend equivalent” payment that is subject to tax at a rate of 30% (or a lower rate under an applicable treaty), which in the case of any amounts you receive upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, could be collected via withholding. If these regulations were to apply to the notes, we may be required to withhold such taxes if any U.S.-source dividends are paid on the stocks included in the underliers during the term of the notes. We could also require you to make certifications (e.g., an applicable Internal Revenue Service Form W-8) prior to thematurity of the notes in order to avoid or minimize withholding obligations, and we could withhold accordingly (subject to your potential right to claim a refund from the Internal Revenue Service) if such certifications were not received or were not satisfactory. If withholding was required, we would not be required to pay any additional amounts with respect to amounts so withheld. These regulations generally will apply to 871(m) financial instruments (or a combination of financial instruments treated as having been entered into in connection with each other) issued (or significantly modified and treated as retired and reissued) on or after January 1, 2019, but will also apply to certain 871(m) financial instruments (or a combination of financial instruments treated as having been entered into in connection with each other) that have a delta (as defined in the applicable Treasury regulations) of one and are issued (or significantly modified and treated as retired and reissued) on or after January 1, 2017.  In addition, these regulations will not apply to financial instruments that reference a “qualified index” (as defined in the regulations).  We have determined that, as of the issue date of your notes, your notes will not be subject to withholding under these rules.  In certain limited circumstances, however, you should be aware that it is possible for United States alien holders to be liable for tax under these rules with respect to a combination of transactions treated as having been entered into in connection with each other even when no withholding is required.  You should consult your tax advisor concerning these regulations, subsequent official guidance and regarding any other possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding

Pursuant to Treasury regulations, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) withholding (as described in “United States Taxation—Taxation of Debt Securities—Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus) will generally apply to obligations that are issued on or after July 1, 2014; therefore, the notes will generally be subject to FATCA withholding. However, according to published guidance, the withholding tax described above will not apply to payments of gross proceeds from the sale, exchange, redemption or other disposition of the notes made before January 1, 2019.

PS-28

VALIDITY OF THE NOTES AND GUARANTEE

In the opinion of Sidley Austin llp, as counsel to GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., when the notes offered by this pricing supplement have been executed and issued by GS Finance Corp., the related guarantee offered by this pricing supplement has been executed and issued by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and such notes have been authenticated by the trustee pursuant to the indenture, and such notes and the guarantee have been delivered against payment as contemplated herein, (a) such notes will be valid and binding obligations of GS Finance Corp., enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors' rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability (including, without limitation, concepts of good faith, fair dealing and the lack of bad faith), provided that such counsel expresses no opinion as to the effect of fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer or similar provision of applicable law on the conclusions expressed above and (b) such related guarantee will be a valid and binding obligation of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors' rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability (including, without limitation, concepts of good faith, fair dealing and the lack of bad faith), provided that such counsel expresses no opinion as to the effect of fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer or similar provision of applicable law on the conclusions expressed above. This opinion is given as of the date hereof and is limited to the laws of the State of New York and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as in effect on the date hereof. In addition, this opinion is subject to customary assumptions about the trustee’s authorization, execution and delivery of the indenture and the genuineness of signatures and certain factual matters, all as stated in the letter of such counsel dated July 10, 2017, which has been filed as Exhibit 5.6 to the registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. on July 10, 2017.

PS-29

We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this pricing supplement, the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.  We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you.  This pricing supplement, the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is an offer to sell only the notes offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.  The information contained in this pricing supplement, the accompanying general terms supplement no. 1,734, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is current only as of the respective dates of such documents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary Information	PS-3
Hypothetical Examples	PS-6
Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes	PS-10
The Underliers	PS-15
Supplemental Discussion of Federal Income Tax Consequences	PS-25
Validity of the Notes and Guarantee	PS-29
General Terms Supplement No. 1,734 dated July 10, 2017
Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes	S-1
Supplemental Terms of the Notes	S-16
The Underliers	S-36
S&P 500® Index	S-40
MSCI Indices	S-46
Hang Seng China Enterprises Index	S-55
Russell 2000® Index	S-61
FTSE® 100 Index	S-69
EURO STOXX 50® Index	S-75
TOPIX	S-82
The Dow Jones Industrial Average®	S-87
The iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF	S-91
Use of Proceeds	S-94
Hedging	S-94
Employee Retirement Income Security Act	S-95
Supplemental Plan of Distribution	S-96
Conflicts of Interest	S-98
Prospectus Supplement dated July 10, 2017
Use of Proceeds	S-2
Description of Notes We May Offer	S-3
Considerations Relating to Indexed Notes	S-15
United States Taxation	S-18
Employee Retirement Income Security Act	S-19
Supplemental Plan of Distribution	S-20
Validity of the Notes and Guarantees	S-21
Prospectus dated July 10, 2017
Available Information	2
Prospectus Summary	4
Risks Relating to Regulatory Resolution Strategies and Long-Term Debt Requirements	8
Use of Proceeds	11
Description of Debt Securities We May Offer	12
Description of Warrants We May Offer	45
Description of Units We May Offer	60
GS Finance Corp.	65
Legal Ownership and Book-Entry Issuance	67
Considerations Relating to Floating Rate Debt Securities	72
Considerations Relating to Indexed Securities	73
Considerations Relating to Securities Denominated or Payable in or Linked to a Non-U.S. Dollar Currency	74
United States Taxation	77
Plan of Distribution	92
Conflicts of Interest	94
Employee Retirement Income Security Act	95
Validity of the Securities and Guarantees	95
Experts	96
Review of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements by Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	96
Cautionary Statement Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995	96

$770,000

GS Finance Corp.

Autocallable Underlier-Linked Notes due 2022

guaranteed by

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC