Goldman’s $1T H1 Deal Record: Why Its Stock Is Crashing Through Wall Street’s Targets

(SeaPRwire) –

By: Christian Pierce

Wall Street’s average price target for Goldman Sachs sits 10% below current trading levels. Yet the bank just posted its best first half for M&A advisory ever. That’s the central tension driving its stock rally.

Per Dealogic data, Goldman advised on over $1 trillion in M&A deals in H1 2026, the fastest anyone has hit that mark in a six-month period. It served as lead left underwriter for the SpaceX IPO on June 12, which hit a $2 trillion market cap on debut. Goldman and Morgan Stanley split roughly $100 million in fees from that listing alone. It also advised on the $66.8 billion Dominion Energy-NextEra deal, the $44.8 billion Unilever food business sale, and the $33.4 billion AES Corp acquisition. Q1 2026 investment banking fees jumped 48% year-over-year to $2.84 billion. Goldman retained its top global M&A advisor ranking for the second straight year, beating JPMorgan. Wall Street rates GS a Moderate Buy, with seven Buy, six Hold, and one Sell rating. The stock is up 24-25% year-to-date, and gained 15% in the past month alone. CEO David Solomon cited artificial intelligence and strategic consolidation as the main drivers of deal flow, even amid U.S.-Iran geopolitical tension.

Corporate boards are prioritizing long-term scale building amid macro uncertainty. That means demand for Goldman’s advisory services isn’t fading anytime soon. The gap between analyst targets and stock performance comes down to the Street underestimating how sticky this deal boom is for the bank.

Author bio: Christian Pierce, a chief financial columnist and markets commentator with 15+ years covering global equities and investment banking.