In the two decades that Dykema has surveyed dealmakers about the U.S. M&A landscape, one dominant theme has emerged: the M&A market is only as strong (or weak) as the underlying economy. Hence the nadir in 2008, the subsequent, steady rise in M&A dealmaking environment during the period of low interest rates that followed, and other events that impacted the overall economy, including fluctuations amid pivotal election years, regulatory evolutions, and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic.

The question, then, for respondents to Dykema’s 2024 M&A Outlook Survey—our 20th-anniversary edition—is what’s next? The more than 200 dealmakers who took this year’s survey in July and August, including C-suite executives, senior management, bankers, and private equity (PE) professionals at organizations of all sizes across the country, have answers.

The last three years saw record M&A highs in 2021 and early 2022, followed by a lackluster 2023 as the Federal Reserve hiked rates in response to inflation rose. According to the survey, 2024 and 2025 show signs of a comeback. Seventy percent of respondents said the U.S. M&A market will strengthen in the next 12 months; only 9% said it would weaken. This, our survey tells us, is largely driven by the positive elements of financial market conditions, availability of capital, and general economic conditions such as stabilizing inflation and reduced interest rate levels*—the same top factors that respondents say impacted M&A opportunities over the past 12 months.

The findings make sense given the resilient U.S. economy, which has seen no real slowdown in consumer spending, a strong labor market, and business leaders looking to invest in innovative startups and adopt technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). But it’s not all rosy. Uncertain market and economic conditions are also the top two factors that respondents say will present hurdles for M&A in the next 12 months—understandable, given ongoing anxiety about the timing of interest rate reductions and the result of the upcoming election.

Still, there are other avenues for dealmakers. “The interest rate environment has been a key factor in limiting M&A,” says Frank Ballantine, Dykema Member who leads M&A and other corporate finance transactions on behalf of businesses and investors. “But capitalism is like water—it finds the gaps of opportunity. Hedge funds and private credit organizations have filled the space left by creating opportunities for private and PE-backed companies to keep growing their businesses.”

There are new regulatory impacts, too: in response to heightened deal scrutiny and new merger guidelines rules from the antitrust enforcers—the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division—the vast majority of dealmakers say that they have increased their scrutiny of target companies for potential antitrust risk the past year (80%) and will continue to do so in the coming year (75%). Over half say the FTC’s merger review process has impeded (and will impede) deal activity.

For its part, private equity has plenty of capital on hand. Sixty-Nine percent of respondents say PE investors will boost deal activity in the next 12 months—but long hold periods, misaligned valuations, and economic volatility are undermining their ability to put that capital to work and profitably exit existing investments.

Finally, this year’s report delves into key dealmaking sectors. Artificial Intelligence (AI), not surprisingly, has made its way to the top of everyone’s list with, nearly three-quarters of respondents believing that  buyers will target companies with AI solutions, operating companies that have implemented AI solutions, and those providing AI infrastructure, such as data centers or chips manufacturers. Meanwhile, energy, financial services, and healthcare are once again expected to be the most active sectors in the year ahead, though healthcare has replaced energy as the sector that respondents say will experience the most M&A activity—largely as a result of the drive for efficiency improvements. These three sectors—again, led by healthcare—have been the most active throughout our 20 years of industry rankings.

In what follows, we’ll unpack these findings and take a deeper dive into the report’s key themes and sector-specific insights, including AI, private equity, healthcare, energy, automotive, and more.