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In simple terms
Capital Markets is part of Financial Services. Start with the points below: they show what can make these companies' results stronger or weaker. You do not need to read every chart.
More detail
Capital markets firms monetize issuance, trading, advisory, and financing activity. This is one of the purest confidence businesses in the market: when volatility is orderly and issuance windows reopen, sales can snap back quickly. when confidence disappears, pipelines freeze. The best franchises therefore combine episodic businesses like IPOs and M&A with steadier ones like fixed-income trading, prime services, or clearing.
Real Numbers
US long-term debt issuance
US long-term fixed-income issuance in 2024.
US equity issuance
Total equity issuance excluding SPACs in 2024.
IPO deal value
US IPO deal value in 2024.
Equity ADV
Average daily equity volume in 2024, in shares.
What can change the picture
Sector lens
Read these points together, not as a prediction. They help explain why results can improve or worsen.
ECM and DCM are timing-sensitive. A few open quarters can rebuild sales quickly after a dry spell.
Volume helps, but client mix, spreads, and risk appetite determine whether activity becomes attractive sales.
M&A, sponsor activity, and leverage finance all depend on CEOs and boards believing they can transact into a stable market.
How the business works
Explore the sector
13 related industries sit alongside this one in Financial Services.