The May 2025 Global Markets Snapshot, released by PitchBook, offers a comprehensive overview of the past month’s trends across equity, debt, and commodities markets, while also delving into private market activity.
As global financial markets continue to grapple with volatility driven by economic uncertainties, geopolitical tensions, and shifting investor sentiment, this report provides critical insights into key data-sets tracked by PitchBook’s Institutional Research Group.
From public market indices to private market dealmaking, fundraising, and unicorn creation, the snapshot serves as a resource for investors navigating a complex landscape.
In May 2025, equity markets displayed a mix of resilience and caution.
Public indices, such as those tracked in the snapshot, showed varied performance.
Major indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq faced headwinds from inflationary pressures and anticipated interest rate adjustments, yet certain sectors—particularly technology and healthcare—demonstrated strength.
The PitchBook report highlights how AI-driven companies and healthcare services continue to attract investor interest, despite broader market fluctuations.
For instance, technology stocks tied to artificial intelligence, such as those in cloud computing and cybersecurity, saw positive returns, reflecting ongoing investor optimism about innovation-driven growth.
However, the snapshot also notes challenges in other sectors.
Consumer discretionary and energy stocks faced downward pressure due to supply chain disruptions and fluctuating commodity prices.
The PitchBook VC Dealmaking Indicator, which quantifies the startup- and investor-friendliness of the capital-raising environment, suggests a slight shift toward a more investor-friendly market in Q2 2025, driven by tighter deal terms and lower valuations in select industries.
This dynamic underscores the cautious optimism permeating equity markets as investors balance risk and opportunity.
Debt markets in May 2025 reflected a cautious approach to lending, with private credit continuing to play a significant role.
The snapshot highlights a steady increase in private debt dry powder, which reached a record $566.8 billion by mid-2024 and is projected to grow further in 2025.
This accumulation signals robust investor appetite for private credit as an alternative to traditional fixed-income investments, especially in an environment of rising interest rates.
PitchBook’s data also points to sustained lending volume in private equity-backed deals, particularly in healthcare and technology, though overall deal activity remains below 2024 expectations due to economic headwinds.
The report emphasizes the growing use of net asset value (NAV) loans, which provide liquidity to general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) despite increased scrutiny.
These loans reflect a broader trend of creative financing solutions in private markets, as investors seek to navigate liquidity constraints amid a challenging exit environment.
The snapshot’s focus on PitchBook’s Private Equity Barometer, which incorporates macroeconomic, credit, and equity indicators, offers a nuanced view of how these factors influence quarterly private equity returns.
In commodities, the snapshot notes volatility driven by geopolitical uncertainties and supply chain shifts.
Energy prices, particularly oil and natural gas, fluctuated due to trade tensions and tariff-related concerns, impacting related sectors like infrastructure and real assets.
Meanwhile, precious metals like gold saw renewed interest as a safe-haven asset amid market uncertainty.
Private market activity, a cornerstone of PitchBook’s analysis, showed resilience despite a slowdown in dealmaking.
Major deals in Q1 2025 included high-profile acquisitions, such as Vista’s purchase of Acumatica, underscoring the appeal of AI-driven technology firms.
Fundraising remained robust, with buyout funds continuing to dominate, though growth funds are gaining traction among LPs seeking alternatives to venture capital.
The snapshot also highlights a 166% funding increase in ID verification startups, reflecting heightened investor focus on cybersecurity amid rising AI-driven threats.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) showed signs of a potential rebound, with VC– and PE-backed IPO indices outpacing deSPAC and unicorn counterparts in 2024 and continuing into 2025.
However, unicorn creation slowed, with market volatility and stricter valuation criteria tempering new formations.
PitchBook’s VC Exit Predictor, a machine-learning-powered tool, forecasts cautious but improving exit activity, offering investors a data-driven edge in strategy formulation.
With over 1,800 researchers and proprietary processes, PitchBook’s platform delivers actionable insights drawn from a dataset covering nearly 4.5 million companies, 2.5 million investments, and 125,000 funds.
The Institutional Research Group’s focus on volatility-sensitive metrics—such as deal flow, fundraising, and sector-specific returns—empowers investors to make informed decisions in a dynamic environment.
As markets face ongoing challenges, from tariff-induced volatility to shifting monetary policies, the insights provide a critical lens for understanding trends and seizing opportunities.
Whether tracking public indices or private market dealmaking, PitchBook’s data-driven approach aims to offer clarity amid growing complexity.