Goldman Sachs and Houlihan Lokey were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in North America during the first half (H1) of 2026 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest financial advisers league table GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Goldman Sachs achieved the top position in terms of value by advising on $437.7 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Houlihan Lokey led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 104 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Goldman Sachs and Houlihan Lokey were the clear winners. While Houlihan Lokey was the only firm to touch triple-digit deal volume during H1 2026, the total value of deals advised by Goldman Sachs was more than $140 billion the value of deals advised by JPMorgan, which held the second position by value by advising on deals worth $297.1 billion.

“It is noteworthy that Goldman Sachs registered 109.1% year-on-year (YoY) jump in the total value of deals advised by it in H1 2026. During this period, it advised on 42 billion-dollar deals* that also included 15 mega deals valued more than $10 billion. The involvement in these big-ticket deals helped Goldman Sachs register a massive jump in terms of value and lead the chart by this metric. Goldman Sachs, apart from leading by value in H1 2026, also held the second position by volume with 74 deals.”

Morgan Stanley occupied the third position in terms of value, by advising on $223.5 billion worth of deals, followed by Wells Fargo with $191.9 billion and Bank of America with $151.1 billion.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley occupied the third position in terms of volume with 65 deals, followed by JPMorgan with 60 deals and Piper Sandler with 59 deals.

*Deals valued ≥ $1 billion