Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Predict IPO Resilience as Revenue Increases

Wall Street Banks Post Strong Gains in Equity Capital Markets Revenue

Despite the ongoing war in Iran weighing on IPO activity, Wall Street's biggest banks kicked off 2026 with strong gains in equity capital markets revenue. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the five major firms saw double-digit percentage gains in revenue from leading deals, including initial public offerings and share sales, compared to the same period in 2025.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Top the Rankings

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. led the pack, with $535 million and $472 million in revenue respectively. This marked a significant increase from the previous year, reflecting the overall health of the market despite the challenges posed by the war in Iran.

| Firm | Revenue (2026) | Revenue (2025) | Percentage Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Goldman Sachs Group Inc. | $535 million | $284 million | 88% | | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $472 million | $281 million | 68% | | Morgan Stanley | $394 million | $234 million | 69% | | Citigroup Inc. | $346 million | $209 million | 65% | | Bank of America Corp. | $283 million | $183 million | 55% |

The jump in underwriting fees came as activity was broadly healthy in the first quarter, with a spike in volatility driven by the US-Israel war with Iran. Even as the US IPO market slowed, executives predicted a rebound in the near future.

Convertible bonds dominated US ECM deals during the quarter, with Oracle Corp.'s $5 billion mandatory offering and Nebius Group NV raising $4.3 billion across two bonds in a single offering. The company behind last year's largest IPO, Medline Inc., produced the biggest US share sale in the first three months of 2026, with some of its private equity backers selling $3.5 billion worth of stock.

The IPO market was more notable for its setbacks, including LiftOff Mobile Inc. and Clear Street Group Inc., which both postponed their listing plans in February amid growing hostilities in the Middle East. However, with SpaceX planning a potentially largest-ever IPO this year, and Anthropic PBC and OpenAI Inc. also weighing multibillion-dollar offerings, it's not hard to envision banks tallying up bumper fees come the end of the year.

Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick sees the pipeline of IPOs and M&A resuming if the market can reclaim the narrative it had going into 2026, and pointed to private equity's desire to crystallize some of its portfolio. Citigroup Inc. led its peers in terms of equity underwriting revenue growth, with a 64% first-quarter increase versus a year earlier.

The Cboe Volatility Index is hovering around 17, while one-month implied volatility on the S&P 500 Index has fallen back to the pre-war level. The US share benchmark is on track to close at its first record since January, as traders bid up stocks amid optimism over the ceasefire between the US and Iran.