Goldman Sachs reports that U.S. mergers and acquisitions have reached approximately $1.2 trillion in 2026, marking a 32% increase from the same period in 2025, with a 12% rise in the number of announced deals. The firm attributes this surge to favorable financial conditions, steady economic growth, and strong CEO confidence.
Despite the increase in activity, Goldman believes that the valuations of likely acquisition targets do not yet reflect their potential for being acquired. Their analysis includes a basket of 71 stocks with at least a 15% chance of acquisition over the next year, which has outperformed the S&P 1500 index by about 8 percentage points since the end of Q1.
Notably, biotechnology companies have led recent gains, but technology, media, and telecommunications sectors are also showing strength. Among the top potential acquisition candidates are Imax, ConocoPhillips, Freeport-McMoRan, Diamondback Energy, Occidental Petroleum, SBA Communications, and software firms Nutanix and Dynatrace.
Goldman suggests that the current M&A cycle is at its midpoint, indicating that deal-making activity may remain strong, although they caution that a decline in investor sentiment could hinder this trend