Goldman Sachs (Goldman Sachs (GS)) is feeling pretty good about the M&A market right now. President John Waldron said this week that 2026 merger and acquisition activity is shaping up to land close to the dealmaking peak set in 2021, pointing to steady corporate appetite for transactions.

The comments, reported by Reuters, signal confidence that the pipeline for advisory work remains healthy even after bouts of market turbulence tied to the war in Iran. Waldron said the firm expects industrywide volumes this year to approach the high-water mark from 2021.

"We're on track to be near the record, if not breaching the record of 2021. Our backlogs feel good. Activity is remaining strong," Waldron said.

He also described the current environment as being driven primarily by companies rather than other buyer groups, saying, "Interestingly, it's really a corporate-led market."

The numbers back that up. M&A volumes soared to $861.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, marking the strongest start since 2021 and a 9.7% increase over Q1 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Waldron also said the bank remains upbeat about the market for initial public offerings (IPOs), arguing that successful blockbuster listings could encourage more activity. He pointed to abundant global capital looking for growth exposure, saying, "We tend to see an enormous amount of liquidity and capital in the world that wants to allocate into growth into this theme, particularly when you get into some pretty exceptional companies."

Goldman has ranked as a leading M&A adviser for more than 20 years and has been positioned to capture fees as dealmaking has picked up globally. One example of the bank's recent work includes advising Unilever on its merger with McCormick, which would create a company valued at about $65 billion.

And then there's SpaceX. Elon Musk-led SpaceX has reportedly selected Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriter for the commercial space flight company's upcoming IPO. That's a high-profile deal that could further boost the bank's advisory revenue.