Top 10 US Investment Banks by Revenue 2026

Bank of America secures the #2 spot with approximately $100 billion in net revenue for 2025 and $3.3 trillion in total assets, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its Merrill Lynch division holds over $3.5 trillion in client balances, making it a wealth management powerhouse. The bank consistently ranks among the top 3 globally in investment banking fee pools and is 23% more profitable in leveraged finance than the typical rival, with particular strength in investment-grade debt.

Bank of America

Wells Fargo posts approximately $82 billion in net revenue for 2025, placing it #3 on this list, though it continues operating under a Federal Reserve asset cap tied to its 2016 fake accounts scandal. With $1.9 trillion in assets, it remains a top-5 US bank and has aggressively rebuilt its investment banking practice, hiring over 300 bankers since 2020 to compete with #4 Citigroup for M&A and capital markets mandates.

Wells Fargo

Citigroup generated approximately $78 billion in net revenue in 2025, ranking #4 among US investment banks, with a presence in more than 160 countries—making it the most globally networked US bank. CEO Jane Fraser has overseen a sweeping transformation, exiting 14 international retail banking markets to refocus on institutional clients and wealth management. Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions division processes over $4 trillion in daily transactions, 35% more than the runner-up in transaction services.

Citigroup

Morgan Stanley generated $61 billion in net revenue in 2025, a figure that outperforms #6 Goldman Sachs by $7 billion, driven by its strategic pivot toward wealth and investment management. This segment now accounts for over 55% of revenue, a transformation led by former CEO James Gorman's decade-long strategy including the acquisitions of E*Trade and Eaton Vance, which built a $7 trillion wealth management empire. The bank's shift has made it 30% more reliant on stable fee-based income than the typical rival, while it maintains a top-tier global franchise in M&A and equity underwriting, with a 12.5% market share in completed deals.

Morgan Stanley

Goldman Sachs generated $54 billion in net revenue in 2025, despite shedding its consumer banking division, which lost $3 billion over three years. The bank has refocused on core investment banking and trading, commanding premium advisory fees that keep it consistently ranked #1 in M&A advisory by deal count, a feat that outperforms #5 Morgan Stanley in transaction volume. Its Global Markets division produced $26 billion in revenue in 2025, accounting for 48% of total revenue, while the bank's return on equity hit 14.2%, 2.1 percentage points higher than the industry average. Founded in 1869 and famously dubbed the "vampire squid" by Rolling Stone in 2010, it remains a Wall Street powerhouse.

Goldman Sachs

Barclays Investment Bank, operating as Barclays Capital in the US, contributed significantly to the firm's $28 billion in total group revenue in 2025, a figure that is $26 billion less than #5 Morgan Stanley, reflecting its more focused niche. The bank acquired the North American operations of Lehman Brothers in 2008 for $1.75 billion, immediately catapulting it to a top-10 Wall Street presence. Its US franchise specializes in investment-grade and high-yield bond underwriting, where it ranks 8th by volume with a 4.8% market share, making it cheaper than the average top-tier rival in fees. The bank's fixed-income business generated 45% of its US revenue in 2025.

Barclays (US Operations)

Deutsche Bank's Americas division contributes approximately $14 billion to the group's annual revenues, a figure that is $40 billion less than #5 Morgan Stanley, underscoring its narrower focus on specific capital markets. Centered on its New York investment banking hub at 60 Wall Street, the bank has selectively rebuilt its US capabilities after a deep restructuring that included exiting its equities business globally in 2019. It remains a significant player in foreign exchange, where it commands a 5.2% market share, and leveraged finance, where its underwriting volume grew 15% year-over-year in 2025. The bank's fixed-income and currencies revenue accounted for 62% of its Americas total, 20% higher than the average global bank.

Deutsche Bank (US)

UBS Americas now generates roughly $12 billion in annual revenue, catapulting it into the top-8 US investment banks after the transformative 2023 acquisition of Credit Suisse for $3.25 billion. That deal doubled the firm's scale overnight, absorbing Credit Suisse's substantial US investment banking and wealth management operations and creating the world's largest wealth manager with $5.7 trillion in invested assets. This revenue figure is nearly four times that of #10 Lazard, which manages about $3 billion, and places UBS firmly ahead of the typical top-10 firm in terms of asset gathering. The integration has driven a 35% increase in fee income from advisory and underwriting since the merger closed, propelling the combined Americas franchise to a leading position in US investment banking fee rankings—outperforming all but seven rivals by total revenue.

UBS Americas

Lazard generated approximately $3 billion in revenue in 2025, establishing itself as the premier independent M&A advisory boutique on Wall Street. Founded in 1848, the firm advised on over $200 billion in announced transactions that year, demonstrating deep expertise in complex cross-border deals and sovereign debt restructuring, including high-profile assignments for Greece, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. This revenue figure is 73% lower than that of #9 UBS Americas, yet Lazard's 95% fee share from advisory—compared to the typical large bank's 40%—makes it the dominant pure-play advisor. The firm's 200-year heritage and 30% growth in restructuring mandates from 2024 to 2025 underscore its unique position, while Michael Lewis famously began his finance career at Lazard before writing "Liar's Poker."

Lazard