Wall Street’s M&A supercycle
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are at the center of a 2026 M&A supercycle, and banks report surging deal flow that’s driving demand for summer interns with real modeling and execution chops. Recruiters are prioritizing candidates with live‑deal experience and robust LBO/DCF skills as grad hiring tightens. (prismnews.com)
Global M&A value jumped to about $4.9 trillion in 2025, a nearly 40% surge from the prior year according to PitchBook numbers cited by CNBC. (cnbc.com) Goldman’s 2026 Global M&A Outlook projects deal volumes could rise roughly 15% this year and spot AI plus energy‑infrastructure as primary drivers of so‑called “megadeals.” (financialcontent.com) Global buyout value rose about 39% to roughly $850 billion in 2025, and North America led with buyout value up roughly 69% to about $500 billion—trends Goldman’s M&A leadership says underpin record‑high leveraged buyout activity. (prismnews.com) Goldman has opened applications for its 2026 Summer Analyst programs across multiple global pathways, advertising nine‑ to ten‑week internships that immerse students in day‑to‑day deal work. (prismnews.com) Morgan Stanley’s public listings for 2026 Strats/Summer roles explicitly call for financial engineering, mathematical/modelling skills and computer‑science backgrounds to support rapid quantitative analysis on pitches and live execution. (morganstanley.tal.net) Recruiting timelines have accelerated: banks began interviews and offers earlier in the cycle in 2026 with candidates effectively committing 12–18 months before start dates, per recruiting guides tracking this year’s IB market. (preplounge.com) Resume‑keyword analyses for 2026 show DCF, LBO, three‑statement modeling and “financial modeling” among the top skills flagged by applicant‑tracking systems, and NACE research finds internship experience is often the deciding factor between equal candidates. (resumeadapter.com)
