Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in Europe during the first three quarters (Q1-Q3) of 2026 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest financial advisers league table by GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Morgan Stanley achieved the leading position in terms of value by advising on $235.2 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Rothschild & Co led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 80 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Rothschild & Co was the top adviser by volume during Q1-Q3 2025 and managed to retain its leadership position by this metric during Q1-Q3 2026 as well despite a year-on-year (YoY) drop in the total number of deals advised by it. However, it faced close competition from PwC, which occupied the second spot by volume with 79 deals.

“Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley was the only adviser with more than $200 billion in total value of deals advised. Subsequently, it registered more than a three-fold jump YoY in the total value of deals advised and its ranking improved from second to the top position. During Q1-Q3 2026, Morgan Stanley advised on 37 billion-dollar deals* that also included six mega deals valued more than $10 billion.”

Barclays occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $132.2 billion worth of deals, followed by Goldman Sachs with $116.8 billion, JPMorgan with $106.2 billion and Evercore with $103.7 billion.

Meanwhile, Houlihan Lokey occupied the third position in terms of volume with 77 deals, followed by Ernst & Young with 70 deals and KPMG with 69 deals.

*Deals valued ≥ $1 billion