Top Energy and Power Investment Banks in 2026

The top energy investment banks are Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on large deals, with Evercore and RBC Capital Markets ranking alongside them as energy specialists. In GlobalData’s 2025 tables, Morgan Stanley led both power M&A ($63.4bn) and oil and gas M&A ($57.3bn) by value.

Energy rankings split by sub-sector and deal size. Lazard and Moelis rank high in power and utilities. RBC Capital Markets leads oil and gas on deal count, with Jefferies second in H1 2026. Houlihan Lokey leads US energy and power deals under $1bn.

If you are choosing a group or an adviser, compare banks within the sub-sector and size band you will work in.

Top energy and power investment banks at a glance

The table groups the leading banks by where they win energy mandates.

How energy league tables work

A league table ranks advisers by the total value of deals they advised on or by the number of deals.

Energy tables come in two families. Power tables cover utilities, generators and renewables. Oil and gas tables cover upstream, midstream and downstream companies. The same bank can rank very differently in each.

Scope also changes the order. GlobalData’s oil and gas tables count deals of $1bn or more. Houlihan Lokey publishes LSEG’s 2025 table of US energy and power deals under $1bn:

• Houlihan Lokey: 18 deals
• Jefferies: 14 deals
• Piper Sandler: 14 deals
• Evercore: 12 deals
• Barclays: 10 deals
• Stifel/KBW: 10 deals

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs do not appear in that top six. Below $1bn, mid-market banks and energy specialists lead on deal count.

Top power and utilities investment banks

GlobalData ranked these banks top for 2025 power M&A by value:

1. Morgan Stanley: $63.4 billion across 24 deals
2. JPMorgan: $62.9 billion across 16 deals
3. Moelis & Company: $45.5 billion
4. Goldman Sachs: $43 billion
5. Lazard: $39.5 billion

By deal count, Rothschild (20) and Barclays (18) sat behind Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley advised on 11 deals worth $1bn or more and JPMorgan on 10.

The adviser line-ups on two of the largest recent power deals show the same names:

Lazard advised the buyer on both deals, and JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs each appear on both. A single utility megamerger, such as NextEra and Dominion, can reshape a year’s value table.

Top oil and gas investment banks

Oil and gas rankings reward a different mix of banks. GlobalData’s 2025 table of deals worth $1bn or more looked like this:

• By value: Morgan Stanley ($57.3bn), RBC Capital Markets ($41.6bn), JPMorgan ($38.1bn), Evercore ($37.9bn), Goldman Sachs ($30bn)
• By count: RBC Capital Markets (24), Morgan Stanley (16), Evercore (16), JPMorgan (14), Jefferies (14)

In the first half of 2026, Goldman Sachs moved to first by value at $48.3bn, ahead of Evercore ($31.6bn), JPMorgan ($25.6bn), RBC ($25.4bn) and Barclays ($12.6bn). Goldman reached that total on three deals, two of them above $10bn.

RBC was the only adviser with a double-digit deal count in H1 2026, at 12. Jefferies (7), Moelis (6), Evercore (5) and Houlihan Lokey (5) followed.

Worked example: what the bankers calculate on a cash and stock deal

Constellation agreed to buy Calpine for 50 million Constellation shares plus $4.5bn in cash. It also agreed to assume about $12.7bn of Calpine net debt. Constellation’s filing values the shares at their 20-day volume weighted average price of $237.98.

Calpine’s advisers would first break the price into its parts:

• Stock consideration = 50m x $237.98 = $11.9 billion
• Equity purchase price = $11.9bn + $4.5bn = $16.4 billion
• Stock share of equity price = $11.9bn / $16.4bn = 73%
• Equity plus net debt = $16.4bn + $12.7bn = $29.1 billion
• Net purchase price (per Constellation) = $26.6 billion
• Credit for expected cash generation and tax attributes = $29.1bn – $26.6bn = $2.5 billion

Constellation put the $26.6bn net price at 7.9x 2026 EV/EBITDA, which implies about $3.4bn of 2026 EBITDA ($26.6bn / 7.9). Because about 73% of the equity is paid in shares, Calpine’s advisers also test how much value moves with Constellation’s share price before closing. In a power group, analysts build this consideration analysis before signing, then update it as the buyer’s share price moves.

What is driving energy deal flow

Deloitte, using S&P Global Market Intelligence data, puts power and utilities deal value at a record $205bn across 92 deals in H1 2026. That is more than three times the H1 2025 total. Ten deals of $1bn or more made up 97% of the value.

Four trends shape the mandates banks are pitching for:

• Data centre demand: AI and digital infrastructure are driving demand for power. Deloitte notes that buying can be a fast route to capacity, as in Talen Energy’s 2.6 GW gas portfolio deal.
• Gas-fired generation: gas made up 43% of the 97 GW of capacity that changed hands in H1 2026. Deloitte puts gas plant valuations at $1,468 per kW, up from $675 per kW in 2024.
• Utility megamergers: the NextEra and Dominion stock-for-stock merger, which Deloitte values at $124bn, gives Dominion holders about 25.5% of the combined company plus a one-time $360m cash payment.
• Renewables: Deloitte says the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act accelerated wind and solar tax credit phase-outs. Buyers are adding scale mainly through asset acquisitions and a few platform deals, such as Pattern Energy’s purchase of Cordelio Power.

Our guide to infrastructure private equity explains how infrastructure funds underwrite power assets, and our ranking of the top leveraged finance banks covers the lenders behind sponsor deals.

How to choose an energy bank

Use the table that matches the deals you want to work on. A value table shows who advises boards on the largest mergers. A count table shows who runs the most sales processes.

If you are recruiting, check three things for each bank:

• Sub-sector: power and utilities work centres on regulated returns and long-term contracts. Oil and gas work centres on reserves, commodity prices and asset-level valuation. Ask which team you would join.
• Deal size: megadeal teams give you board-level exposure on fewer live deals. Mid-market teams, such as Houlihan Lokey or Jefferies, give you more full processes.
• Client mix: some teams mostly advise utilities and large corporates, while others run many sales for infrastructure funds and other sponsors. Sponsor work helps if your next step is a fund.

If you are a seller choosing an adviser, ask for the bank’s recent deals in your sub-sector and size band. Then ask who on the team ran them. Our guide to the best investment banks for analysts compares training and exits, and our top industrials investment banks list shows how a neighbouring sector ranks. For mid-sized deals, see the best middle market investment banks.

FAQ

Which bank is number one for energy M&A?

Morgan Stanley led GlobalData’s 2025 tables by value in both power ($63.4bn) and oil and gas ($57.3bn). In H1 2026, Goldman Sachs moved to first in oil and gas at $48.3bn. For deal count, RBC Capital Markets led oil and gas in both periods, and Houlihan Lokey led US energy and power deals under $1bn in 2025 on LSEG’s count.

Which boutiques are strongest in energy and power?

Evercore, Lazard and Moelis rank highest by value among the independent advisers. Rothschild was second by power deal count in 2025, with 20 deals. Evercore was second by value in H1 2026 oil and gas and led Calpine’s sale. Lazard led NextEra’s side of the Dominion merger and ranked fifth in 2025 power. Moelis was third in 2025 power at $45.5bn.

Is energy a good group for investment banking analysts?

Yes, if you want technical depth. Power deals teach you regulated utility valuation and contracted cash flows. Oil and gas deals teach reserve-based and commodity-linked valuation. Deal flow is strong, with record power and utilities deal value of $205bn in H1 2026 on Deloitte’s figures.

What is the difference between power and oil and gas coverage?

Power and utilities teams cover regulated utilities, independent power producers and renewables. Oil and gas teams cover upstream producers, midstream pipelines and downstream refiners. Houlihan Lokey, for example, splits its energy practice into four oil and gas sub-sectors and nine power, utilities and renewables sub-sectors.

Conclusion

The top energy and power investment banks are Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on the largest deals, with Evercore, RBC, Lazard and Moelis ranking alongside them in their sub-sectors. Value tables move with one or two megadeals, as the oil and gas lead passed from Morgan Stanley in 2025 to Goldman Sachs in H1 2026. Use deal counts in your sub-sector and size band to judge which teams are busy year after year.

P.S. To study how these energy deals were priced and who advised on them, try the Transaction Master File. Our Premium Resources have more tools you may find useful, and the Private Equity Bros newsletter brings you weekly finance updates and the latest financial reports.

Sources

• Constellation to Acquire Calpine
• NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy to Combine
• Power and utilities M&A 2026 midyear update
• Energy M&A, Financing, Financial Advisory Services
• Morgan Stanley tops power M&A financial advisory in 2025
• Morgan Stanley leads in oil and gas M&A deal value for 2025
• Goldman Sachs leads oil and gas M&A advisory by value in H1 2026