▪  BY JACOB RADKE

M&A and IPOs lead banks higher

Since the start of 2025, the six largest U.S. banks returned 66% as a group, while the S&P 500 returned 32%.

2021 was the biggest year ever for mergers and acquisitions, with about $5.9 trillion of deals announced worldwide. Global M&A reached $3.1 trillion in the first half of 2026 alone, the largest six months on record and 48% higher than a year earlier. And the IPO market has recovered alongside it. U.S. companies raised roughly $141 billion in initial public offerings in the first half, the most since 2021.

JPMorgan's investment banking fees rose 28% year over year last quarter, and its trading revenue was the highest in the firm's history. The banks with the largest capital-markets businesses collected the most, which is essentially the order on the chart.

The deal market is highly cyclical, but is now recovering from higher interest rates and an aggressive Federal Trade Commission.