Goldman's IB Fees Jump 52% in 1H26: Will the Uptrend Continue?

Investment banking (IB) activity at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS gathered significant momentum in the first half of 2026, aided by improving dealmaking and capital market conditions. The company’s IB fees jumped 52% year over year to $6.24 billion, driven by broad-based strength across advisory and underwriting businesses in the first half of 2026.

The improvement was particularly pronounced in equity underwriting. In the first six months of 2026, advisory revenues increased 46% year over year to $2.87 billion, while equity underwriting revenues surged 90% to $1.52 billion. Debt underwriting revenues advanced 37% to $1.84 billion. In the second quarter alone, IB fees climbed 55% to $3.40 billion. Equity underwriting benefited from higher secondary and initial public offerings, while debt underwriting was supported by increased leveraged-finance and asset-backed activity. Advisory revenues gained from higher industry-wide completed M&A volumes. 

Goldman’s strong competitive position has further supported the momentum. In the second quarter, the company remained #1 in announced and completed M&A, equity and equity-related offerings, and leveraged lending, while ranking #2 in high-yield debt. This leadership underscores the strength of its global franchise and its ability to capture opportunities as corporate transaction activity improves. 

Further momentum in Goldman’s investment banking business will likely be supported by robust strategic M&A activity, AI-related capital formation, stronger financing demand, and improving equity and debt underwriting activity. The firm’s investment banking backlog has reached a five-year high, including a record advisory backlog, providing good revenue visibility. Its leading positions in announced and completed M&A, equity and equity-related offerings, and leveraged lending should also help it capture a greater share of improving capital-market activity.

Nonetheless, the pace of recovery could remain uneven. Deal completions and IPO activity are sensitive to market volatility, economic conditions, financing availability, trade-policy uncertainty, geopolitical developments and regulatory approvals. Overall, Goldman’s strong market position, improving capital market backdrop and elevated backlog suggest that IB momentum is likely to remain healthy, though the magnitude of growth will depend on how quickly the robust pipeline translates into completed transactions.

IB Business Performance of GS’s Peers

Similar to GS, its close peers, JPMorgan JPM and Morgan Stanley MS, are benefiting from industry-wide improvement in the operating environment.

JPMorgan remains well-positioned to benefit as capital markets and advisory activity normalize over time. In the first half of 2026, JPMorgan captured a 9.3% wallet share. Looking ahead, a healthy pipeline and resilient M&A demand (as companies seek scale, cost synergies and enhanced technology capabilities to remain competitive) are expected to support the IB business.

Morgan Stanley's IB franchise continues to recover as issuance and strategic activity improve. In the first half of 2026, IB fees jumped 47% year over year. Looking ahead, Morgan Stanley is well-positioned to benefit from a healthier deal environment, supported by a robust and diversified pipeline across regions and sectors.

Goldman’s Price Performance, Valuation, & Estimates

GS shares have jumped 40.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 22.5%. 

Price Performance

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Goldman trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.42X, above the industry’s average of 13.94X.

Price-to-Earnings F12M

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GS’s 2026 and 2027 earnings implies year-over-year rallies of 34.2% and 4.9%, respectively. Estimates for both years have been unchanged over the past month.

Estimate Revision Trend

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Goldman currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research