Goldman Sachs and Houlihan Lokey were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the North American region during the first three quarters (Q1-Q3) of 2025 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest financial advisers league table by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Goldman Sachs achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $369 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Houlihan Lokey led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 159 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “There was a massive jump in the total value of deals advised by Goldman Sachs during Q1-Q3 2025 compared to Q1-Q3 2024. Resultantly, its ranking by value also improved from the second position during Q1-Q3 2024 to the top position in the corresponding period in 2025. Goldman Sachs advised on 66 billion-dollar deals* during Q1-Q3 2025 that also included seven mega deals valued more than $10 billion. Involvement in these big-ticket deals helped it top the chart.

“Moreover, Goldman Sachs was also among the only three advisers with triple-digit deal volume and occupied the second position by volume during Q1-Q3 2025. Meanwhile, Houlihan Lokey, which was the top adviser by volume during Q1-Q3 2024, also managed to retain its leadership position by this metric during Q1-Q3 2025.”

JP Morgan occupied the third position in terms of volume with 110 deals, followed by Jefferies with 81 deals, and Evercore with 79 deals.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $340.7 billion worth of deals, followed by JP Morgan with $319.9 billion, Wells Fargo with $248.7 billion, and Citi with $223.1 billion.