JPMorgan and Houlihan Lokey are top M&A financial advisers in Q1: GlobalData

JPMorgan advised $24.7b in deals whilst Houlihan Lokey advised 19 deals.

JPMorgan and Houlihan Lokey were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the technology, media, and telecom sector in Q1 2026 based on value and volume, respectively, according to a study by GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

JPMorgan advised $24.7b worth of deals, whilst Houlihan Lokey advised on 19 deals during the period.

Despite rising to the number one spot in terms of deal value, JPMorgan actually saw a 27% year-on-year (YoY) drop in deal value, only working on 12 deals.  

Morgan Stanley, which was the top M&A financial advisor for technology, media, and telecom in Q1 2025, fell to number two spot. It advised $22.97b worth of deals in Q1 2026, a 77.3% YoY drop from the $100.89b it advised a year earlier.

Goldman Sachs remained in the top three, advising seven deals collectively worth $18.03b, 54.9% YoY lower than a year ago.

In terms of volume, Houlihan Lokey advised 19 deals in Q1 2026 from 23 during the same quarter in 2025. Evercore advised 13 deals, up 62.5% YoY from just 8 deals previously; whilst JPMorgan advised 12 deals.