Methodology

Each bar is the sum of the 10 largest M&A deals announced during that presidential term, with each deal expressed as a percentage of US nominal GDP for the year it was announced. That normalizes for both inflation and overall economic growth — a $50B deal in 1995 represents a much bigger share of the economy than a $50B deal in 2025. Hover any bar to see the underlying deals.

Data source: Wikipedia: List of largest mergers and acquisitions (decade tables for the 1990s through 2020s; "Free market enterprises" section). US nominal GDP from BEA NIPA annual series; 2025 and 2026 are projections.

• US-relevant only. At least one party must be US-headquartered. Foreign-only deals (Vodafone–Mannesmann, Cheung Kong–Hutchison, AB InBev–SABMiller, BHP unification, etc.) are out.
• Arm's-length market deals only. Excluded: 2008–09 government bailouts (AIG, Citi, BofA, GM); internal reorgs (Verizon–VZ Wireless 45%, Kinder Morgan/Energy Transfer MLP rollups, SpaceX–xAI); asset/spectrum/division-only deals (DuPont N&B–IFF, GSK/Pfizer Consumer Health JV, AT&T–EchoStar spectrum); failed or withdrawn deals (Pfizer–Allergan, Visa–Plaid, AstraZeneca–Gilead).
• Clinton I (1993–1997) is omitted — Wikipedia's list has only one US-relevant deal in that window (Bell Atlantic–NYNEX, 1996).
• Transition-year deals default to the post-inauguration term, with manual overrides where Wikipedia uses the close year (e.g., Sprint–Nextel was announced Dec 2004, so it's under Bush I). Overridden rows are italicized in the tooltip.
• Trump II is partial — 467 of the term's 1461 days, through 2026-05-02. The solid hatched bar is actual to date; the lighter dashed cap is the implied 4-year total at the current pace (actual × 1461/467). The label above the bar is the implied total.