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Market strategy briefQ2 2026Next refresh: mid-Nov 2026

Higher Spend Concentration + Slower posture

Marketing, Advertising & Information Services

Higher Spend Concentration + Slower · $262.9B disclosed spend · led by Bolt On plays · activity cooling across 167 public buyers.

Durable buyers add client access and workflow relevance through data assets, specialist capabilities, and repeatable service lines.

Bolt On dominantSpend HHI 597Cooling -17

Disclosed acquisition spend is above the atlas median HHI (576), while recent activity is flat or cooling.

Public buyers

167

81 core (10+)

Recorded buys

2,411

363 last 3 yrs

Disclosed spend

$262.9B

$51.4B recent

Matched issuers

260

4 segments

Strategy fingerprint

How this market gets bought

Spend-weighted strategy mix from public buyers' 10-K language. Each archetype shows the buyers who lead it.

Bolt 21%
Platform 19%
Geo 16%
Tech 13%
Horiz 11%
Talent 10%
Tuck InBolt OnPlatformGeographic ExpansionHorizontal ConsolidationVertical IntegrationTechnology AcquisitionTalent Acquisition

Tuck In

7% mix

Small additive deals folded directly into the existing business.

Bolt On

21% mix

Mid-sized acquisitions extending the existing product or service core.

“Our long-term business strategy includes growth through acquisitions and other strategic relationships.”

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK) · FY2025

Platform

19% mix

Foundational deals establishing a new platform or business line.

“This acquisition positions us for further growth in role-playing, action and adventure genres.”

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) · FY2008

Geographic Expansion

16% mix

Buying density or new geographies to extend the footprint.

“By acquiring Gravity and H20 Midstream, we intend to increase third-party revenue streams, diversify our customer and product mix, and expand our footprint in the Midland and Bakken basins, aligning with our strategic growth objectives.”

Delek US Holdings, Inc. (DK) · FY2025

Horizontal Consolidation

11% mix

Acquiring direct competitors to consolidate the market.

“The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination and is reported in the aviation segment.”

World Kinect Corporation (WKC) · FY2025

Vertical Integration

2% mix

Adding upstream or downstream capability inside the value chain.

Technology Acquisition

13% mix

Buying products, IP, or engineering depth for capability gain.

“In September 2022 we closed the acquisition of Mandiant to help expand our offerings in dynamic cyber defense and response.”

Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) · FY2022

Talent Acquisition

10% mix

Acquisitions led by team or human-capital rationale.

Buyer landscape

Disclosed buyer scale by annual spend

Each bubble is a top public buyer with disclosed acquisition spend. X = average disclosed spend per active year. Y = total disclosed spend. Midlines are buyer medians. Color = dominant strategy archetype.

Below-median disclosed spend per active year, above-median total disclosed spend.Lower Annual Spend / Higher Total SpendAbove-median disclosed spend per active year, above-median total disclosed spend.Higher Annual Spend / Higher Total SpendBelow-median disclosed spend per active year, below-median total disclosed spend.Lower Annual Spend / Lower Total SpendAbove-median disclosed spend per active year, below-median total disclosed spend.Higher Annual Spend / Lower Total Spend$100M$1B$1B$10Bmedian annual $225Mmedian total $2.4BAvg disclosed acquisition spend per active year (log) →Total disclosed spend (log)GOOGAlphabet Inc. (GOOG) Technology Acquisition $43.1B total · $2.3B / active year 19 active years · 221 buys reportedDLXDeluxe Corp. (DLX) Bolt On $35.5B total · $3.9B / active year 9 active years · 64 buys reportedMPCMarathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) Geographic Expansion $12.9B total · $1.4B / active year 9 active years · 140 buys reportedOMCOmnicom Group Inc. (OMC) Geographic Expansion $11.9B total · $593M / active year 20 active years · 140 buys reportedMETAMeta Platforms, Inc. (META) Technology Acquisition $10.1B total · $1.3B / active year 8 active yearsEFXEquifax Inc. (EFX) Geographic Expansion $8.1B total · $425M / active year 19 active years · 36 buys reportedTRUTransUnion (TRU) Bolt On $7.9B total · $1.1B / active year 7 active years · 19 buys reportedSUNSunoco LP (SUN) Bolt On $6.9B total · $626M / active year 11 active years · 44 buys reportedEAElectronic Arts Inc. (EA) Platform $5.9B total · $451M / active year 13 active years · 2 buys reportedPSXPhillips 66 (PSX) Bolt On $5.5B total · $1.1B / active year 5 active years · 10 buys reportedDASHDoordash, Inc. (DASH) Platform $5B total · $1.7B / active year 3 active years · 8 buys reportedVRSKVerisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK) Bolt On $4B total · $252M / active year 16 active years · 61 buys reportedTTWOTake-two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) Talent Acquisition $3.8B total · $238M / active year 16 active years · 9 buys reportedDKDelek US Holdings, Inc. (DK) Geographic Expansion $3.8B total · $543M / active year 7 active years · 6 buys reportedHQYHealthequity, Inc. (HQY) Horizontal Consolidation $3.3B total · $468M / active year 7 active years · 11 buys reportedMTCHMatch Group, Inc. (MTCH) Bolt On $3.1B total · $206M / active year 15 active years · 21 buys reportedZDZiff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Technology Acquisition $2.7B total · $134M / active year 20 active years · 100 buys reportedWKCWorld Kinect Corporation (WKC) Horizontal Consolidation $2.4B total · $161M / active year 15 active years · 54 buys reportedPLTKPlaytika Holding Corp. (PLTK) Bolt On $2.3B total · $465M / active year 5 active years · 6 buys reportedNBISNebius Group N.v. (NBIS) Technology Acquisition $2.2B total · $361M / active year 6 active years · 6 buys reportedBAHBooz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (BAH) Horizontal Consolidation $1.8B total · $181M / active year 10 active years · 8 buys reportedICFIICF International, Inc. (ICFI) Bolt On $1.7B total · $88M / active year 19 active years · 23 buys reportedBAIDFBaidu, Inc. (BAIDF) Platform $1.6B total · $143M / active year 11 active years · 3 buys reportedTDOCTeladoc Health, Inc. (TDOC) Bolt On $1.5B total · $211M / active year 7 active years · 6 buys reportedHURNHuron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) Bolt On $1.2B total · $77M / active year 16 active years · 25 buys reportedSNAPSnap Inc. (SNAP) Mixed strategy $1.2B total · $174M / active year 7 active years · 5 buys reportedMYPSPLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. (MYPS) Platform $1.1B total · $280M / active year 4 active years · 4 buys reportedTWLOTwilio Inc. (TWLO) Platform $1.1B total · $112M / active year 10 active years · 10 buys reportedEVHEvolent Health, Inc. (EVH) Bolt On $1.1B total · $106M / active year 10 active years · 11 buys reportedVVVValvoline Inc. (VVV) Geographic Expansion $881M total · $88M / active year 10 active years · 551 buys reportedMGNIMagnite, Inc. (MGNI) Technology Acquisition $809M total · $90M / active year 9 active years · 7 buys reportedSTGWStagwell Inc (STGW) Bolt On $777M total · $43M / active year 18 active years · 71 buys reportedSSTKShutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) Geographic Expansion $751M total · $83M / active year 9 active years · 7 buys reportedEEXEmerald Holding, Inc. (EEX) Bolt On $691M total · $77M / active year 9 active years · 17 buys reportedSGUStar Group, L.p. (SGU) Bolt On $514M total · $34M / active year 15 active years · 57 buys reportedPERIPerion Network Ltd. (PERI) Technology Acquisition $438M total · $34M / active year 13 active years · 9 buys reported
BuyerDominant playDisclosed spendSpend / yrBuys3-yr spend trend
Alphabet Inc.GOOGTechnology Acquisition
$43.1B
$2.3B221

Cooling

-69%

Deluxe Corp.DLXBolt On
$35.5B
$3.9B64

Paused

$959M prior

Marathon Petroleum CorporationMPCGeographic Expansion
$12.9B
$1.4B140

New cycle

$4.3B recent

Omnicom Group Inc.OMCGeographic Expansion
$11.9B
$593M140

New cycle

$9.9B recent

Meta Platforms, Inc.METATechnology Acquisition
$10.1B
$1.3BN/A

New cycle

$4.2B recent

Equifax Inc.EFXGeographic Expansion
$8.1B
$425M36

Cooling

-90%

TransUnionTRUBolt On
$7.9B
$1.1B19

Winding down

$4.3B → $56M

Sunoco LPSUNBolt On
$6.9B
$626M44

Accelerating

+385%

Electronic Arts Inc.EAPlatform
$5.9B
$451M2

Paused

$3.4B prior

Phillips 66PSXBolt On
$5.5B
$1.1B10

New cycle

$4.4B recent

Doordash, Inc.DASHPlatform
$5B
$1.7B8

New cycle

$5B recent

Verisk Analytics, Inc.VRSKBolt On
$4B
$252M61

Cooling

-74%

Playbook theatre

The language of consolidation, by archetype

Direct sentences from public buyers' 10-K filings, grouped by the strategy they describe.

“Our long-term business strategy includes growth through acquisitions and other strategic relationships.”

Verisk Analytics, Inc.VRSKFY2025

“We have a strong track record of identifying and integrating our acquisitions and driving long-term value creation, and we will continue to maintain a disciplined approach to pursuing acquisitions.”

TransUnionTRUFY2025

“Our financial targets through 2027 reflect our plans to organically grow our Midstream and Chemicals businesses, as well as maintain total annual capital expenditures and investments of approximately $2.5 billion, including capital related to WRB following the consolidation on October 1, 2025.”

Phillips 66PSXFY2025

“Our management team also has experience in acquiring other businesses and integrating those operations with our own.”

ICF International, Inc.ICFIFY2025

“Our acquisition strategy has historically been focused on identifying and acquiring games with broad appeal and scalable leadership potential in their genres.”

Playtika Holding Corp.PLTKFY2025

“We rely on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store to distribute and monetize our mobile applications. While our mobile applications are free to download from these stores, we offer our users the opportunity to purchase subscriptions and certain à la carte features through these applications.”

Match Group, Inc.MTCHFY2024

Submarkets

Where the cadence lives

Activity intensity, lead buyers, and footprint per segment within this market.

Agency & Marketing Services

1,503

Advertising agencies, creative services, media buying, digital marketing, and customer-acquisition capability.

Buyers

54

Core

30

Spend

$125.8B

2006–2025 · last year 66

Data, Analytics & Information

669

Information services, proprietary data, analytics, measurement, consumer data, and risk data platforms.

Buyers

80

Core

35

Spend

$97.6B

2006–2025 · last year 55

Consulting & Advisory Services

197

Consulting, advisory, transformation, research, implementation, and specialist service-line acquisitions.

Buyers

16

Core

9

Spend

$23.8B

2006–2025 · last year 8

Digital Media & Gaming

61

Digital media, gaming, multimedia, audience platforms, content services, and interactive marketing channels.

Buyers

17

Core

7

Spend

$15.7B

2006–2025 · last year 9

Accelerators

Recent 3-yr cadence above prior

8

Coolers

Recent 3-yr cadence below prior

8

Trajectory

20 years of cadence and spend

Annual recorded buys and disclosed spend across the matched buyer set.

01352692006: 48 buys · $1.4B spend · 14 buyers2007: 55 buys · $5.8B spend · 15 buyers2008: 81 buys · $5.2B spend · 18 buyers2009: 49 buys · $1.4B spend · 18 buyers2010: 132 buys · $6.9B spend · 21 buyers2011: 172 buys · $8.1B spend · 27 buyers2012: 210 buys · $52.2B spend · 20 buyers2013: 76 buys · $8.2B spend · 25 buyers2014: 69 buys · $14.3B spend · 27 buyers2015: 91 buys · $6.9B spend · 30 buyers2016: 99 buys · $8.3B spend · 35 buyers2017: 131 buys · $5.8B spend · 35 buyers2018: 216 buys · $12.6B spend · 34 buyers2019: 116 buys · $10.9B spend · 34 buyers2020: 102 buys · $9.7B spend · 37 buyers2021: 269 buys · $23.6B spend · 64 buyers2022: 132 buys · $30.1B spend · 56 buyers2023: 123 buys · $8.4B spend · 48 buyers2024: 106 buys · $9.9B spend · 41 buyers2025: 134 buys · $33.1B spend · 60 buyers2006: 48 buys · $1.4B spend · 14 buyers2007: 55 buys · $5.8B spend · 15 buyers2008: 81 buys · $5.2B spend · 18 buyers2009: 49 buys · $1.4B spend · 18 buyers2010: 132 buys · $6.9B spend · 21 buyers2011: 172 buys · $8.1B spend · 27 buyers2012: 210 buys · $52.2B spend · 20 buyers2013: 76 buys · $8.2B spend · 25 buyers2014: 69 buys · $14.3B spend · 27 buyers2015: 91 buys · $6.9B spend · 30 buyers2016: 99 buys · $8.3B spend · 35 buyers2017: 131 buys · $5.8B spend · 35 buyers2018: 216 buys · $12.6B spend · 34 buyers2019: 116 buys · $10.9B spend · 34 buyers2020: 102 buys · $9.7B spend · 37 buyers2021: 269 buys · $23.6B spend · 64 buyers2022: 132 buys · $30.1B spend · 56 buyers2023: 123 buys · $8.4B spend · 48 buyers2024: 106 buys · $9.9B spend · 41 buyers2025: 134 buys · $33.1B spend · 60 buyers20062011201620212025
Recorded buysDisclosed spend (rescaled)