Goldman Sachs (GS) dominated the very top of global dealmaking last year, advising on 38 of the 68 $10B-plus transactions and racking up $1.48T in total deal volume, according to LSEG data, Reuters report on Tuesday.
In 2025, the investment bank was paid $4.6B in mergers-and-acquisition fees, the most of any rival. JPMorgan’s (JPM) M&A fees were $3.1B, followed by Morgan Stanley’s (MS) $3B, Citigroup’s (C) $2B and Evercore’s (EVR) $1.7B, the data showed, Reuters reported.
A Citizens survey found that 69% of private equity leaders say the U.S. M&A environment is strong, and 90% expect deal flow will rise or hold steady this year, due to improving economic conditions and attractive sector-wide valuations. AI companies or assets are set to keep driving deal activity.
Goldman (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) also led in the volume of deals. From there, Morgan Stanley (MS) took the third slot, and BofA (BAC) and Citi (C) held the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
Goldman (GS) CFO Denis Coleman has said he sees even greater M&A activity into 2026, as lower borrowing costs and a”resilient economy buoy the overall outlook.