The rebound in dealmaking was especially important for the industry’s largest players, which have the biggest underwriting, advisory and trading operations. Global mergers and acquisitions deal value rose 36% in 2025, while investment banking fees climbed to $102.9 billion, trailing only the record $132.3 billion generated in 2021.

No company better illustrates the sector’s strength than JPMorgan Chase. The banking giant, which has $4.9 trillion in assets, retained the No. 1 spot on the Global 2000 for a fourth consecutive year. The firm remained the world's top investment bank by fees for the 17th straight year, with fees rising to $9.6 billion in 2025 from $8.9 billion a year earlier. Among other transactions, JPMorgan was a lead underwriter on AI cloud provider CoreWeave's $1.5 billion IPO, one of 2025’s most closely watched, and scrutinized, public offerings.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, with $8.1 trillion in assets, remained the world's second-largest bank but slipped to No. 6 overall from No. 3 a year ago. Bank of America ($3.4 trillion in assets) ranked seventh overall, followed by China Construction Bank ($6.8 trillion) at No. 9 and Agricultural Bank of China ($7.4 trillion) at No. 10. Bank of China ($5.7 trillion) held steady at No. 12, while HSBC Holdings ($3.3 trillion) climbed two spots to No. 13, remaining the largest bank outside the United States and China.

The United States continued to dominate the category with 94 financial companies on the list, followed by China with 66 and Japan with 34. India contributed 18 companies and South Korea 17. Banks accounted for 314 spots, down from 329 in 2025, while diversified financial firms edged up to 136 from 134.

Christopher O'Keefe, managing director and lead portfolio manager at Logan Capital Management, which oversees $3 billion in assets under management, describes the environment for large banks as “almost like a perfect storm of positives.” Strong credit quality, higher net interest income, robust investment banking activity and a lighter regulatory environment all helped support the industry's biggest players.

Christopher McGratty, head of U.S. bank research at KBW, says the largest U.S. banks benefited from capital markets momentum, regulatory clarity and resilient economic conditions. Trading desks continued to benefit from what he described as “good volatility,” with active markets driving trading volumes without the kind of stress that typically accompanies a downturn. A pickup in M&A activity and IPOs also helped drive fees across the sector.

Some of the biggest gains came outside traditional banking. UBS ($1.7 trillion in assets) jumped to No. 46 from No. 64. BlackRock ($170 billion in assets) climbed to No. 172 from No. 191. Brookfield ($520 billion in assets), the Toronto-based investment firm with holdings spanning infrastructure, renewable power, real estate and private equity, rose 88 spots to No. 224, while Sweden's Investor AB ($120 billion in assets), a holding company whose investments include defense contractor Saab and telecom giant Ericsson, surged to No. 213 from No. 468. Intercontinental Exchange ($179 billion in assets) climbed to No. 315 from No. 360. Austin Taggart, a financial services analyst at Morningstar, says firms tied to capital markets activity were among the biggest winners over the past year. Higher asset prices boosted asset managers, while stronger trading activity and a rebound in M&A and IPOs helped investment banks and exchange operators.

South Korea, home to many of the world's leading memory-chip companies and the best-performing major stock market of 2025 with a 95% return, produced four of the category's 10 biggest gainers. The group was led by SK Square ($25 billion in assets), which climbed 837 spots to No. 709, the largest jump among companies appearing on both this year's and last year's lists. The investment company owns roughly 20% of memory-chip giant SK Hynix, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom. Other Korean firms also posted substantial gains, including SK ($149 billion in assets; up 510 spots to No. 363), Mirae Asset Financial Group ($111 billion in assets; up 506 spots to No. 782), NH Investments & Securities ($65 billion in assets; up 483 spots to No. 1,351) and DAOU Technology ($63 billion in assets; up 421 spots to No. 1,220).

The highest-ranked newcomer was Sweden's Industrivarden ($22 billion in assets), which debuted at No. 989. The holding company owns concentrated stakes in just eight Swedish companies, led by industrial giants Volvo and Sandvik, which together make up 60% of Industrivarden’s portfolio. Sandvik’s shares surged 52% in 2025 amid strong demand for its mining and industrial equipment, helping lift Industrivarden’s net asset value by 20% during the year. The holding company is chaired by billionaire Fredrik Lundberg, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $9.5 billion. The biggest U.S. newcomer was Galaxy Digital ($10 billion in assets), which debuted at No. 1,527. Founded by billionaire Michael Novogratz, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $7.6 billion, the company expanded beyond digital assets, by purchasing a large bitcoin mining operation in 2022 in West Texas and converting it to a data center campus in 2025. The acquisition could produce as much as a $20 billion windfall for Novogratz’ Galaxy in the long term, while it already contributed to Galaxy’s 40% year-over-year leap in revenue last year.

Argentina's Grupo Financiero Galicia ($33 billion in assets), one of the country's largest banking groups, posted the largest decline among companies appearing on both lists, falling 797 places to No. 1,717. Revenue fell 30% year over year and net income dropped roughly 90%, though the comparison is unusually difficult because Argentina's inflation rate fell sharply over the period. As inflation cooled and returns on government securities declined, some of the extraordinary earnings that helped fuel the bank's rise following President Javier Milei's election in 2023 proved difficult to repeat.

Among U.S. firms, Invesco ($27 billion in assets), the Atlanta-based asset manager behind the Invesco QQQ ETF, suffered the steepest drop, sliding 365 spots to No. 1,985. The company’s shares have nearly doubled over the past year, but a $1.8 billion non-cash impairment charge taken in 2025 tied largely to management contracts acquired in its $5.7 billion purchase of OppenheimerFunds in 2019 pushed it to a net loss of $726 million.

Forbes compiled the Global 2000 using data from FactSet Research. The ranking is based on a composite score derived from sales, profits, assets and market value. Market values and financial results are as of May 15, 2026.

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