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Machine Verified Markets
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 22%
Platform 18%
Geo 17%
Tech 13%
Horiz 12%
Tuck InBolt OnPlatformGeographic ExpansionHorizontal ConsolidationVertical IntegrationTechnology AcquisitionTalent Acquisition

Tuck In

6% mix

Small additive deals folded directly into the existing business.

Bolt On

22% 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

18% 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

17% 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

12% 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$100K$1M$10M$100M$1B$10B$100K$1M$10M$100M$1B$10B$100Bmedian annual $49Mmedian total $226MAvg 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 yearsKUSTKustom Entertainment, Inc. (KUST) Mixed strategy $9.1B total · $4.6B / active year 2 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 reportedFLNTFluent, Inc. (FLNT) Bolt On $6.6B total · $731M / active year 9 active years · 4 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 reportedINUVInuvo, Inc. (INUV) Geographic Expansion $5.1B total · $1B / active year 5 active years · 4 buys reportedDASHDoordash, Inc. (DASH) Platform $5B total · $1.7B / active year 3 active years · 8 buys reportedVLOValero Energy Corp. (VLO) Geographic Expansion $4.1B total · $815M / active year 5 active years · 17 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 reportedIACIAC Inc. (IAC) Mixed strategy $3.3B total · $1.6B / active year 2 active years · 3 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 reportedSPTJFSinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited (SPTJF) Mixed strategy $2.9B total · $2.9B / active year 1 active yearsZDZiff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Technology Acquisition $2.7B total · $134M / active year 20 active years · 100 buys reportedWIMIWiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (WIMI) Platform $2.6B total · $1.3B / active year 2 active years · 2 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 reportedPBFPBF Energy Inc. (PBF) Geographic Expansion $1.6B total · $819M / active year 2 active years · 4 buys reportedDOYUDouYu International Holdings Ltd (DOYU) Mixed strategy $1.6B total · $1.6B / active year 1 active yearsBAIDFBaidu, 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 reportedCVICVR Energy, Inc. (CVI) Geographic Expansion $1.3B total · $445M / active year 3 active years · 3 buys reportedMOMOHello Group Inc. (MOMO) Mixed strategy $1.2B total · $408M / active year 3 active years · 3 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 reportedGRNQGreenpro Capital Corp. (GRNQ) Platform $1.2B total · $580M / active year 2 active years · 2 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 reportedVEEVVeeva Systems Inc. (VEEV) Bolt On $1.1B total · $269M / active year 4 active years · 3 buys reportedEVHEvolent Health, Inc. (EVH) Bolt On $1.1B total · $106M / active year 10 active years · 11 buys reportedCMPRCimpress plc (CMPR) Bolt On $1B total · $129M / active year 8 active years · 14 buys reportedANGIAngi Inc. (ANGI) Geographic Expansion $1B total · $257M / active year 4 active years · 4 buys reportedGIGMGIGAMEDIA Ltd (GIGM) Geographic Expansion $1B total · $167M / active year 6 active years · 2 buys reportedFCNFTI Consulting, Inc. (FCN) Bolt On $977M total · $65M / active year 15 active years · 35 buys reportedOMCLOmnicell, Inc. (OMCL) Geographic Expansion $971M total · $81M / active year 12 active years · 13 buys reportedCRTOCriteo S.A. (CRTO) Technology Acquisition $897M total · $112M / active year 8 active years · 7 buys reportedVVVValvoline Inc. (VVV) Geographic Expansion $881M total · $88M / active year 10 active years · 551 buys reportedQNSTQuinStreet, Inc. (QNST) Bolt On $859M total · $95M / active year 9 active years · 69 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 reportedWPPWPP plc (WPP) Mixed strategy $755M total · $189M / active year 4 active years · 2 buys reportedSSTKShutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) Geographic Expansion $751M total · $83M / active year 9 active years · 7 buys reportedCAPLCrossamerica Partners LP (CAPL) Geographic Expansion $743M total · $83M / active year 9 active years · 13 buys reportedWGSGeneDx Holdings Corp. (WGS) Platform $696M total · $174M / active year 4 active years · 4 buys reportedEEXEmerald Holding, Inc. (EEX) Bolt On $691M total · $77M / active year 9 active years · 17 buys reportedZZillow Group, Inc. (Z) Bolt On $689M total · $98M / active year 7 active years · 14 buys reportedSKLZSkillz Inc. (SKLZ) Horizontal Consolidation $650M total · $325M / active year 2 active years · 2 buys reportedCCOClear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (CCO) Talent Acquisition $619M total · $124M / active year 5 active years · 2 buys reportedCERTCertara, Inc. (CERT) Horizontal Consolidation $615M total · $103M / active year 6 active years · 13 buys reportedCTEVClaritev Corp (CTEV) Bolt On $596M total · $119M / active year 5 active years · 5 buys reportedTBLATaboola.com Ltd. (TBLA) Mixed strategy $592M total · $197M / active year 3 active years · 1 buys reportedTHRYThryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) Geographic Expansion $543M total · $91M / active year 6 active years · 4 buys reportedTSQTownsquare Media, Inc. (TSQ) Platform $534M total · $76M / active year 7 active years · 3 buys reportedSEATVivid Seats Inc. (SEAT) Mixed strategy $531M total · $133M / active year 4 active years · 4 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 reportedCNFNCFN Enterprises Inc. (CNFN) Bolt On $430M total · $143M / active year 3 active years · 3 buys reportedGEHCGE Healthcare Technologies Inc. (GEHC) Horizontal Consolidation $409M total · $205M / active year 2 active years · 6 buys reportedGDRXGoodRx Holdings, Inc. (GDRX) Bolt On $396M total · $99M / active year 4 active years · 8 buys reportedTEMTempus AI, Inc. (TEM) Technology Acquisition $396M total · $198M / active year 2 active years · 5 buys reportedHSTMHealthstream Inc. (HSTM) Bolt On $387M total · $28M / active year 14 active years · 21 buys reportedGRPNGroupon, Inc. (GRPN) Technology Acquisition $376M total · $54M / active year 7 active years · 24 buys reportedTBRGTrubridge, Inc. (TBRG) Bolt On $314M total · $52M / active year 6 active years · 6 buys reportedHCATHealth Catalyst, Inc. (HCAT) Technology Acquisition $309M total · $52M / active year 6 active years · 6 buys reportedFORRForrester Research, Inc. (FORR) Mixed strategy $299M total · $37M / active year 8 active years · 3 buys reportedFCFranklin Covey Co. (FC) Bolt On $297M total · $27M / active year 11 active years · 11 buys reportedCDLXCardlytics, Inc. (CDLX) Platform $290M total · $145M / active year 2 active years · 3 buys reportedPRVAPrivia Health Group, Inc. (PRVA) Geographic Expansion $263M total · $66M / active year 4 active years · 6 buys reportedMSGMMotorsport Games Inc. (MSGM) Bolt On $258M total · $129M / active year 2 active years · 4 buys reportedCCLDCareCloud, Inc. (CCLD) Geographic Expansion $246M total · $31M / active year 8 active years · 14 buys reportedPHRPhreesia, Inc. (PHR) Bolt On $243M total · $49M / active year 5 active years · 7 buys reportedSCORComscore, Inc. (SCOR) Geographic Expansion $226M total · $38M / active year 6 active years · 6 buys reportedDHDefinitive Healthcare Corp. (DH) Mixed strategy $219M total · $44M / active year 5 active years · 5 buys reportedBILIBilibili Inc. (BILI) Bolt On $201M total · $50M / active year 4 active years · 3 buys reportedADVAdvantage Solutions Inc. (ADV) Horizontal Consolidation $185M total · $62M / active year 3 active years · 15 buys reportedHHSHarte Hanks, Inc. (HHS) Geographic Expansion $169M total · $24M / active year 7 active years · 8 buys reportedSLPSimulations Plus, Inc. (SLP) Bolt On $160M total · $23M / active year 7 active years · 4 buys reportedAMWLAmerican Well Corporation (AMWL) Mixed strategy $157M total · $157M / active year 1 active yearsATHMAutohome Inc. (ATHM) Platform $139M total · $69M / active year 2 active yearsSPOKSpok Holdings, Inc. (SPOK) Horizontal Consolidation $137M total · $69M / active year 2 active years · 1 buys reportedFVRRFiverr International Ltd. (FVRR) Technology Acquisition $137M total · $46M / active year 3 active years · 6 buys reportedRGPResources Connection, Inc. (RGP) Geographic Expansion $128M total · $14M / active year 9 active years · 14 buys reportedPINSPinterest, Inc. (PINS) Talent Acquisition $123M total · $62M / active year 2 active years · 2 buys reportedOPRXOptimizerx Corporation (OPRX) Horizontal Consolidation $118M total · $20M / active year 6 active years · 6 buys reportedMRDNMeridian Holdings Inc. (MRDN) Geographic Expansion $116M total · $17M / active year 7 active years · 8 buys reportedDOCSDoximity, Inc. (DOCS) Geographic Expansion $107M total · $54M / active year 2 active years · 2 buys reportedMCHXMarchex, Inc. (MCHX) Bolt On $106M total · $21M / active year 5 active years · 7 buys reportedEPOWSunrise New Energy Co., Ltd. (EPOW) Mixed strategy $98M total · $49M / active year 2 active yearsQPRCQuest Patent Research Corporation (QPRC) Technology Acquisition $96M total · $48M / active year 2 active years · 3 buys reportedSCNXScienture Holdings, Inc. (SCNX) Technology Acquisition $96M total · $32M / active year 3 active years · 4 buys reportedGRVYGravity Co., Ltd. (GRVY) Bolt On $89M total · $30M / active year 3 active yearsACCSACCESS Newswire Inc. (ACCS) Bolt On $89M total · $9M / active year 10 active years · 11 buys reportedYDKGYueda Digital Holding (YDKG) Mixed strategy $87M total · $44M / active year 2 active years · 1 buys reportedCRAICRA International, Inc. (CRAI) Geographic Expansion $82M total · $12M / active year 7 active years · 7 buys reportedRBLXRoblox Corporation (RBLX) Mixed strategy $82M total · $16M / active year 5 active years · 8 buys reportedCLNEClean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) Geographic Expansion $81M total · $12M / active year 7 active years · 9 buys reportedVSEEVSee Health, Inc. (VSEE) Horizontal Consolidation $69M total · $69M / active year 1 active yearsDDIDoubleDown Interactive Co., Ltd. (DDI) Geographic Expansion $68M total · $34M / active year 2 active years · 3 buys reportedZDGEZedge, Inc. (ZDGE) Bolt On $64M total · $13M / active year 5 active years · 4 buys reportedNCTYThe9 LTD (NCTY) Tuck In $58M total · $19M / active year 3 active yearsNRCNRC Health (NRC) Horizontal Consolidation $57M total · $6M / active year 9 active years · 7 buys reportedSMWBSimilarweb Ltd. (SMWB) Mixed strategy $51M total · $10M / active year 5 active years · 8 buys reportedGAMEGamesquare Holdings, Inc. (GAME) Bolt On $45M total · $23M / active year 2 active years · 2 buys reportedWBWeibo Corporation (WB) Horizontal Consolidation $44M total · $9M / active year 5 active yearsVSMEVS Media Holdings Limited (VSME) Mixed strategy $38M total · $38M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedVASOVaso Corporation (VASO) Bolt On $37M total · $9M / active year 4 active years · 4 buys reportedCRTDCreatd, Inc. (CRTD) Bolt On $34M total · $17M / active year 2 active years · 3 buys reportedEVEREverQuote, Inc. (EVER) Mixed strategy $31M total · $15M / active year 2 active years · 1 buys reportedJOYYJoyy Inc. (JOYY) Geographic Expansion $30M total · $6M / active year 5 active years · 2 buys reportedGIBOGIBO HOLDINGS Ltd (GIBO) Mixed strategy $30M total · $30M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedTRVGtrivago N.V. (TRVG) Bolt On $28M total · $5M / active year 6 active years · 2 buys reportedSBCSBC Medical Group Holdings Incorporated (SBC) Mixed strategy $28M total · $28M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedKDOZFKidoz Inc. (KDOZF) Platform $28M total · $9M / active year 3 active years · 2 buys reportedOPRAOpera Ltd (OPRA) Horizontal Consolidation $23M total · $8M / active year 3 active years · 1 buys reportedFOXOFoxo Technologies Inc. (FOXO) Bolt On $23M total · $23M / active year 1 active years · 3 buys reportedSNPWSun Pacific Holding Corp. (SNPW) Mixed strategy $22M total · $22M / active year 1 active years · 2 buys reportedZCMDZhongchao Inc. (ZCMD) Platform $22M total · $22M / active year 1 active yearsTXG10x Genomics, Inc. (TXG) Technology Acquisition $19M total · $6M / active year 3 active years · 2 buys reportedFORAForian Inc. (FORA) Bolt On $19M total · $19M / active year 1 active years · 2 buys reportedTCToken Cat Limited (TC) Geographic Expansion $18M total · $18M / active year 1 active years · 2 buys reportedTULPBloomia Holdings, Inc. (TULP) Platform $18M total · $6M / active year 3 active yearsTGNTTotaligent, Inc. (TGNT) Technology Acquisition $18M total · $9M / active year 2 active years · 1 buys reportedRDDTReddit, Inc. (RDDT) Technology Acquisition $17M total · $17M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedGETYGetty Images Holdings, Inc. (GETY) Mixed strategy $15M total · $15M / active year 1 active yearsGENIGenius Sports Limited (GENI) Mixed strategy $15M total · $15M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedWORXScworx Corp. (WORX) Horizontal Consolidation $13M total · $7M / active year 2 active years · 1 buys reportedZHZhihu Inc. (ZH) Mixed strategy $13M total · $7M / active year 2 active yearsHCTIHealthcare Triangle, Inc. (HCTI) Bolt On $12M total · $6M / active year 2 active years · 3 buys reportedDRCTDirect Digital Holdings, Inc. (DRCT) Mixed strategy $12M total · $12M / active year 1 active yearsCMCMCheetah Mobile Inc. (CMCM) Bolt On $11M total · $2M / active year 7 active years · 1 buys reportedCNETZW Data Action Technologies Inc. (CNET) Geographic Expansion $11M total · $4M / active year 3 active yearsTZOOTravelzoo (TZOO) Geographic Expansion $11M total · $5M / active year 2 active years · 5 buys reportedMOBQMobiquity Technologies, Inc. (MOBQ) Platform $10M total · $5M / active year 2 active years · 1 buys reportedSLESuper League Enterprise, Inc. (SLE) Geographic Expansion $10M total · $3M / active year 4 active years · 5 buys reportedSNALSnail, Inc. (SNAL) Platform $10M total · $10M / active year 1 active years · 3 buys reportedNCMINational CineMedia, Inc. (NCMI) Geographic Expansion $8M total · $4M / active year 2 active years · 16 buys reportedSDGRSchrodinger, Inc. (SDGR) Platform $6M total · $6M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedONFOOnfolio Holdings Inc. (ONFO) Bolt On $5M total · $3M / active year 2 active years · 2 buys reportedNUTXNutex Health Inc. (NUTX) Technology Acquisition $5M total · $3M / active year 2 active years · 7 buys reportedXNETXunlei Ltd (XNET) Mixed strategy $5M total · $5M / active year 1 active yearsHNGEHinge Health, Inc. (HNGE) Mixed strategy $4M total · $4M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedSWAGStran & Company, Inc. (SWAG) Geographic Expansion $4M total · $2M / active year 2 active years · 2 buys reportedADMGAdamant DRI Processing and Minerals Group (ADMG) Mixed strategy $4M total · $4M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedLBUYLeafbuyer Technologies, Inc. (LBUY) Mixed strategy $3M total · $3M / active year 1 active yearsIZEAIzea Worldwide, Inc. (IZEA) Bolt On $2M total · $475K / active year 4 active years · 6 buys reportedVCIGVCI Global Limited (VCIG) Mixed strategy $2M total · $950K / active year 2 active yearsGDCGD Culture Group Limited (GDC) Talent Acquisition $2M total · $567K / active year 3 active years · 4 buys reportedNEXNNexxen International Ltd. (NEXN) Platform $2M total · $2M / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedONARONAR Holding Corporation (ONAR) Bolt On $700K total · $700K / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedKARXKarbon-x Corp. (KARX) Mixed strategy $300K total · $300K / active year 1 active years · 3 buys reportedAMTXAemetis, Inc. (AMTX) Geographic Expansion $300K total · $300K / active year 1 active years · 3 buys reportedBYOCBeyond Commerce, Inc. (BYOC) Bolt On $200K total · $200K / active year 1 active years · 2 buys reportedMGAMMobile Global Esports Inc. (MGAM) Technology Acquisition $200K total · $200K / active year 1 active yearsDBMMDigital Brand Media & Marketing Group, Inc. (DBMM) Mixed strategy $200K total · $200K / active year 1 active years · 1 buys reportedKRKR36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) Mixed strategy $100K total · $100K / active year 1 active years
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

Kustom Entertainment, Inc.KUSTN/A
$9.1B
$4.6BN/A

Winding down

$8.6B → $514M

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%

Fluent, Inc.FLNTBolt On
$6.6B
$731M4

Paused

$10M prior

Electronic Arts Inc.EAPlatform
$5.9B
$451M2

Paused

$3.4B prior

Phillips 66PSXBolt On
$5.5B
$1.1B10

New cycle

$4.4B recent

Inuvo, Inc.INUVGeographic Expansion
$5.1B
$1B4

Steady

+0% (count)

Doordash, Inc.DASHPlatform
$5B
$1.7B8

New cycle

$5B recent

Valero Energy Corp.VLOGeographic Expansion
$4.1B
$815M17

Steady

+0% (count)

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

Cooling

-74%

Take-two Interactive Software, Inc.TTWOTalent Acquisition
$3.8B
$238M9

New cycle

$3.3B recent

Delek US Holdings, Inc.DKGeographic Expansion
$3.8B
$543M6

Accelerating

+63%

IAC Inc.IACN/A
$3.3B
$1.6B3

Paused

$3.3B prior

Healthequity, Inc.HQYHorizontal Consolidation
$3.3B
$468M11

Cooling

-39%

Match Group, Inc.MTCHBolt On
$3.1B
$206M21

Paused

$890M prior

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company LimitedSPTJFN/A
$2.9B
$2.9BN/A

Steady

no signal

Ziff Davis, Inc.ZDTechnology Acquisition
$2.7B
$134M100

Cooling

-60%

WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc.WIMIPlatform
$2.6B
$1.3B2

Paused

$2.6B prior

World Kinect CorporationWKCHorizontal Consolidation
$2.4B
$161M54

Cooling

-74%

Playtika Holding Corp.PLTKBolt On
$2.3B
$465M6

Accelerating

+348%

Nebius Group N.v.NBISTechnology Acquisition
$2.2B
$361M6

Steady

+16%

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding CorporationBAHHorizontal Consolidation
$1.8B
$181M8

Cooling

-31%

ICF International, Inc.ICFIBolt On
$1.7B
$88M23

Cooling

-77%

PBF Energy Inc.PBFGeographic Expansion
$1.6B
$819M4

Steady

+0% (count)

DouYu International Holdings LtdDOYUN/A
$1.6B
$1.6BN/A

Paused

$1.6B prior

Baidu, Inc.BAIDFPlatform
$1.6B
$143M3

Winding down

$642M → $18M

Teladoc Health, Inc.TDOCBolt On
$1.5B
$211M6

Cooling

-83%

CVR Energy, Inc.CVIGeographic Expansion
$1.3B
$445M3

Steady

-100% (count)

Hello Group Inc.MOMON/A
$1.2B
$408M3

Winding down

$515M → $29M

Huron Consulting Group Inc.HURNBolt On
$1.2B
$77M25

New cycle

$112M recent

Snap Inc.SNAPN/A
$1.2B
$174M5

Cooling

-85%

Greenpro Capital Corp.GRNQPlatform
$1.2B
$580M2

Steady

+0% (count)

PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc.MYPSPlatform
$1.1B
$280M4

Winding down

$1.1B → $10M

Twilio Inc.TWLOPlatform
$1.1B
$112M10

Winding down

$863M → $73M

Veeva Systems Inc.VEEVBolt On
$1.1B
$269M3

Paused

$469M prior

Evolent Health, Inc.EVHBolt On
$1.1B
$106M11

Accelerating

+52%

Cimpress plcCMPRBolt On
$1B
$129M14

Winding down

$129M → $500K

Angi Inc.ANGIGeographic Expansion
$1B
$257M4

Paused

$28M prior

GIGAMEDIA LtdGIGMGeographic Expansion
$1B
$167M2

Steady

+0% (count)

FTI Consulting, Inc.FCNBolt On
$977M
$65M35

Paused

$87M prior

Omnicell, Inc.OMCLGeographic Expansion
$971M
$81M13

Paused

$228M prior

Criteo S.A.CRTOTechnology Acquisition
$897M
$112M7

Winding down

$180M → $8M

Valvoline Inc.VVVGeographic Expansion
$881M
$88M551

Cooling

-59%

QuinStreet, Inc.QNSTBolt On
$859M
$95M69

Cooling

-66%

Magnite, Inc.MGNITechnology Acquisition
$809M
$90M7

Winding down

$737M → $8M

Stagwell IncSTGWBolt On
$777M
$43M71

Cooling

-41%

WPP plcWPPN/A
$755M
$189M2

New cycle

$211M recent

Shutterstock, Inc.SSTKGeographic Expansion
$751M
$83M7

Cooling

-41%

Crossamerica Partners LPCAPLGeographic Expansion
$743M
$83M13

Cooling

-87%

GeneDx Holdings Corp.WGSPlatform
$696M
$174M4

Winding down

$651M → $45M

Emerald Holding, Inc.EEXBolt On
$691M
$77M17

Accelerating

+33%

Zillow Group, Inc.ZBolt On
$689M
$98M14

Winding down

$501M → $400K

Skillz Inc.SKLZHorizontal Consolidation
$650M
$325M2

Paused

$650M prior

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.CCOTalent Acquisition
$619M
$124M2

New cycle

$590M recent

Certara, Inc.CERTHorizontal Consolidation
$615M
$103M13

Steady

+22%

Claritev CorpCTEVBolt On
$596M
$119M5

Steady

+6%

Taboola.com Ltd.TBLAN/A
$592M
$197M1

Winding down

$592M → $700K

Thryv Holdings, Inc.THRYGeographic Expansion
$543M
$91M4

Steady

-25%

Townsquare Media, Inc.TSQPlatform
$534M
$76M3

Paused

$19M prior

Vivid Seats Inc.SEATN/A
$531M
$133M4

New cycle

$530M recent

Star Group, L.p.SGUBolt On
$514M
$34M57

Accelerating

+164%

Perion Network Ltd.PERITechnology Acquisition
$438M
$34M9

Accelerating

+102%

CFN Enterprises Inc.CNFNBolt On
$430M
$143M3

Winding down

$420M → $10M

GE Healthcare Technologies Inc.GEHCHorizontal Consolidation
$409M
$205M6

New cycle

$409M recent

GoodRx Holdings, Inc.GDRXBolt On
$396M
$99M8

Cooling

-88%

Tempus AI, Inc.TEMTechnology Acquisition
$396M
$198M5

New cycle

$396M recent

Healthstream Inc.HSTMBolt On
$387M
$28M21

Cooling

-67%

Groupon, Inc.GRPNTechnology Acquisition
$376M
$54M24

Steady

+0% (count)

Trubridge, Inc.TBRGBolt On
$314M
$52M6

Cooling

-64%

Health Catalyst, Inc.HCATTechnology Acquisition
$309M
$52M6

Steady

-25%

Forrester Research, Inc.FORRN/A
$299M
$37M3

Steady

+0% (count)

Franklin Covey Co.FCBolt On
$297M
$27M11

Cooling

-95%

Cardlytics, Inc.CDLXPlatform
$290M
$145M3

Paused

$290M prior

Privia Health Group, Inc.PRVAGeographic Expansion
$263M
$66M6

Accelerating

+615%

Motorsport Games Inc.MSGMBolt On
$258M
$129M4

Paused

$258M prior

CareCloud, Inc.CCLDGeographic Expansion
$246M
$31M14

Cooling

-56%

Phreesia, Inc.PHRBolt On
$243M
$49M7

Accelerating

+123%

Comscore, Inc.SCORGeographic Expansion
$226M
$38M6

Paused

$63M prior

Definitive Healthcare Corp.DHN/A
$219M
$44M5

Steady

+22%

Bilibili Inc.BILIBolt On
$201M
$50M3

Cooling

-44%

Advantage Solutions Inc.ADVHorizontal Consolidation
$185M
$62M15

Paused

$185M prior

Harte Hanks, Inc.HHSGeographic Expansion
$169M
$24M8

Paused

$6M prior

Simulations Plus, Inc.SLPBolt On
$160M
$23M4

Accelerating

+129%

American Well CorporationAMWLN/A
$157M
$157MN/A

Paused

$157M prior

Autohome Inc.ATHMPlatform
$139M
$69MN/A

Winding down

$128M → $11M

Spok Holdings, Inc.SPOKHorizontal Consolidation
$137M
$69M1

Steady

+0% (count)

Fiverr International Ltd.FVRRTechnology Acquisition
$137M
$46M6

Cooling

-59%

Resources Connection, Inc.RGPGeographic Expansion
$128M
$14M14

Steady

+0%

Pinterest, Inc.PINSTalent Acquisition
$123M
$62M2

Paused

$123M prior

Optimizerx CorporationOPRXHorizontal Consolidation
$118M
$20M6

Accelerating

+319%

Meridian Holdings Inc.MRDNGeographic Expansion
$116M
$17M8

Accelerating

+140%

Doximity, Inc.DOCSGeographic Expansion
$107M
$54M2

New cycle

$107M recent

Marchex, Inc.MCHXBolt On
$106M
$21M7

Paused

$8M prior

Sunrise New Energy Co., Ltd.EPOWN/A
$98M
$49MN/A

New cycle

$98M recent

Quest Patent Research CorporationQPRCTechnology Acquisition
$96M
$48M3

Paused

$96M prior

Scienture Holdings, Inc.SCNXTechnology Acquisition
$96M
$32M4

New cycle

$96M recent

Gravity Co., Ltd.GRVYBolt On
$89M
$30MN/A

Steady

no signal

ACCESS Newswire Inc.ACCSBolt On
$89M
$9M11

Steady

+0%

Yueda Digital HoldingYDKGN/A
$87M
$44M1

Steady

+0% (count)

CRA International, Inc.CRAIGeographic Expansion
$82M
$12M7

New cycle

$2M recent

Roblox CorporationRBLXN/A
$82M
$16M8

Cooling

-68%

Clean Energy Fuels Corp.CLNEGeographic Expansion
$81M
$12M9

Steady

+0% (count)

VSee Health, Inc.VSEEHorizontal Consolidation
$69M
$69MN/A

New cycle

$69M recent

DoubleDown Interactive Co., Ltd.DDIGeographic Expansion
$68M
$34M3

New cycle

$68M recent

Zedge, Inc.ZDGEBolt On
$64M
$13M4

Accelerating

+89%

The9 LTDNCTYTuck In
$58M
$19MN/A

Steady

no signal

NRC HealthNRCHorizontal Consolidation
$57M
$6M7

Steady

-4%

Similarweb Ltd.SMWBN/A
$51M
$10M8

Accelerating

+52%

Gamesquare Holdings, Inc.GAMEBolt On
$45M
$23M2

New cycle

$45M recent

Weibo CorporationWBHorizontal Consolidation
$44M
$9MN/A

New cycle

$39M recent

VS Media Holdings LimitedVSMEN/A
$38M
$38M1

New cycle

$38M recent

Vaso CorporationVASOBolt On
$37M
$9M4

Steady

+0% (count)

Creatd, Inc.CRTDBolt On
$34M
$17M3

Accelerating

+1341%

EverQuote, Inc.EVERN/A
$31M
$15M1

Paused

$31M prior

Joyy Inc.JOYYGeographic Expansion
$30M
$6M2

Steady

+100% (count)

GIBO HOLDINGS LtdGIBON/A
$30M
$30M1

New cycle

$30M recent

trivago N.V.TRVGBolt On
$28M
$5M2

Accelerating

+89%

SBC Medical Group Holdings IncorporatedSBCN/A
$28M
$28M1

New cycle

$28M recent

Kidoz Inc.KDOZFPlatform
$28M
$9M2

Steady

+0% (count)

Opera LtdOPRAHorizontal Consolidation
$23M
$8M1

New cycle

$14M recent

Foxo Technologies Inc.FOXOBolt On
$23M
$23M3

New cycle

$23M recent

Sun Pacific Holding Corp.SNPWN/A
$22M
$22M2

Steady

+0% (count)

Zhongchao Inc.ZCMDPlatform
$22M
$22MN/A

New cycle

$22M recent

10x Genomics, Inc.TXGTechnology Acquisition
$19M
$6M2

Steady

-2%

Forian Inc.FORABolt On
$19M
$19M2

Paused

$19M prior

Token Cat LimitedTCGeographic Expansion
$18M
$18M2

Paused

$18M prior

Bloomia Holdings, Inc.TULPPlatform
$18M
$6MN/A

New cycle

$9M recent

Totaligent, Inc.TGNTTechnology Acquisition
$18M
$9M1

Steady

+0% (count)

Reddit, Inc.RDDTTechnology Acquisition
$17M
$17M1

New cycle

$17M recent

Getty Images Holdings, Inc.GETYN/A
$15M
$15MN/A

New cycle

$15M recent

Genius Sports LimitedGENIN/A
$15M
$15M1

New cycle

$15M recent

Scworx Corp.WORXHorizontal Consolidation
$13M
$7M1

Paused

$12M prior

Zhihu Inc.ZHN/A
$13M
$7MN/A

New cycle

$13M recent

Healthcare Triangle, Inc.HCTIBolt On
$12M
$6M3

Paused

$12M prior

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc.DRCTN/A
$12M
$12MN/A

Paused

$12M prior

Cheetah Mobile Inc.CMCMBolt On
$11M
$2M1

Paused

$900K prior

ZW Data Action Technologies Inc.CNETGeographic Expansion
$11M
$4MN/A

New cycle

$300K recent

TravelzooTZOOGeographic Expansion
$11M
$5M5

Accelerating

+860%

Mobiquity Technologies, Inc.MOBQPlatform
$10M
$5M1

Steady

+0% (count)

Super League Enterprise, Inc.SLEGeographic Expansion
$10M
$3M5

Cooling

-65%

Snail, Inc.SNALPlatform
$10M
$10M3

New cycle

$10M recent

National CineMedia, Inc.NCMIGeographic Expansion
$8M
$4M16

New cycle

$8M recent

Schrodinger, Inc.SDGRPlatform
$6M
$6M1

Paused

$6M prior

Onfolio Holdings Inc.ONFOBolt On
$5M
$3M2

New cycle

$5M recent

Nutex Health Inc.NUTXTechnology Acquisition
$5M
$3M7

New cycle

$5M recent

Xunlei LtdXNETN/A
$5M
$5MN/A

Steady

no signal

Hinge Health, Inc.HNGEN/A
$4M
$4M1

New cycle

$4M recent

Stran & Company, Inc.SWAGGeographic Expansion
$4M
$2M2

New cycle

$4M recent

Adamant DRI Processing and Minerals GroupADMGN/A
$4M
$4M1

Steady

+0% (count)

Leafbuyer Technologies, Inc.LBUYN/A
$3M
$3MN/A

Steady

no signal

Izea Worldwide, Inc.IZEABolt On
$2M
$475K6

New cycle

$300K recent

VCI Global LimitedVCIGN/A
$2M
$950KN/A

New cycle

$2M recent

GD Culture Group LimitedGDCTalent Acquisition
$2M
$567K4

Cooling

-79%

Nexxen International Ltd.NEXNPlatform
$2M
$2M1

Paused

$2M prior

ONAR Holding CorporationONARBolt On
$700K
$700K1

New cycle

$700K recent

Karbon-x Corp.KARXN/A
$300K
$300K3

New cycle

$300K recent

Aemetis, Inc.AMTXGeographic Expansion
$300K
$300K3

Steady

+0% (count)

Beyond Commerce, Inc.BYOCBolt On
$200K
$200K2

Paused

$200K prior

Digital Brand Media & Marketing Group, Inc.DBMMN/A
$200K
$200K1

Steady

+0% (count)

Mobile Global Esports Inc.MGAMTechnology Acquisition
$200K
$200KN/A

New cycle

$200K recent

36Kr Holdings Inc.KRKRN/A
$100K
$100KN/A

New cycle

$100K recent

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)