Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Lead Wall Street’s M&A League Tables

For some of the most storied names on Wall Street, the trillion-dollar question is whether the dealmaking bonanza that began in mid-2025 will continue next year. Looks like the odds are in their favor.

After a quiet start to this year, dealmaking picked up as the Trump administration relaxed regulations and interest rates continued to decline. Global mergers and acquisitions ultimately surged 41% year-over-year to $4.8 trillion in 2025 — the second-highest total on record after 2021 — spurred by a record 70 megadeals valued at more than $10 billion each, according to data from Mergermarket. 

Leaders of the Pack 

JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs proved they’re still the go-to middlemen for many of Wall Street’s major deals. Goldman took the top spot in worldwide M&A advisory rankings, with $1.4 trillion in deals as of Dec. 18, according to data from LSEG, followed by JPMorgan with $1.1 trillion. 

Those deals gave both banks a boost during the third-quarter earnings season: 

• JPMorgan Chase’s net income of $14.4 billion was up 12% from a year earlier and topped analysts’ expectations. “M&A activity picked up against a supportive backdrop,” CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. 
• Goldman Sachs also beat estimates when it reported revenues of $15.18 billion, a 20% increase from the year prior. Investment banking fees were 42% higher than in the third quarter of 2024, reflecting a jump in completed mergers and acquisitions. 

Those giants aren’t expecting to slow down any time soon. 

“Setting aside 2021, next year could be one of the best of the last 10 years because there wasn’t a lot of volatility in volume over the last decade,” Jay Hofmann, co-head of M&A for North America at JPMorgan Chase, told Reuters. “If global M&A volumes are up 15% or 20% next year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to us at all.” 

Goldman Chief Financial Officer Denis Coleman recently said the industry may have its second-biggest year in history for announced M&A volume in 2026.

Bronze Medal: Don’t forget the other Morgan. Morgan Stanley closely followed JPMorgan in LSEG’s rankings, with $1 trillion in deals for the year.