US direct lending volume was broadly stable in the first half of 2026, reaching USD 155.6bn across 1,645 deals, compared with USD 154.2bn across 1,716 transactions in 1H25, according to Debtwire’s 1H26 US Direct Lender Rankings report.

The steady level of activity came as margins on direct lending loans widened to 518bps in 2Q26, from 507bps in 1Q26 and 485bps in 4Q25. The spread over the leveraged loan market remained significant, with leveraged loan margins at 306bps in 1Q26 and 298bps in 2Q26.

The average deal size rose to approximately USD 94.6m in 1H26 from USD 89.9m a year prior. First-quarter volume reached USD 79.3bn across 856 deals, before easing to USD 76.3bn across 789 transactions in 2Q26.

Rankings highlights

Audax Private Debt and Churchill Asset Management tied for first place in the overall direct-lender rankings, each with 77 deals and a 5.85% market share. Ares ranked third with 73 deals, followed by Monroe Capital with 71 and Apollo’s MidCap Financial with 68.

Audax also led the large-cap category, completing 24 deals for a 20.87% market share. Antares ranked second with 22 deals and 19.13%, while Apollo placed third with 19 and 16.52%.

In the mid-cap category, Audax came first again with 38 deals and a 23.6% market share, followed by Churchill with 25 deals and 15.53%. Antares tied with Monroe Capital with 13 deals for third place.

Monroe topped small-cap lending with 15 deals and a 11% market share, followed by Audax with 13 deals and Principal Alternative Credit with 12 deals.

Including add-on transactions, Ares ranked first with 130 deals and an 8% market share, followed by Churchill with 121 deals and 7.5%, and Audax with 97 deals and 6%.

Market Share

For use of proceeds, buyout transactions accounted for the largest share of direct lending volume at 32.2%, followed by refinancings at 20.3%, M&A at 19.4% and general corporate purposes at 18.5%. Dividends accounted for just 4.5%.

Within the broader credit market, direct lending represented the smallest portion of combined activity in 1H26. Leveraged loans accounted for USD 470.7bn of activity in the period, while high-yield bonds represented USD 179.5bn and direct lending USD 155.6bn.

Sector trends

In terms of sector rankings, TMT was the most active sector, generating USD 36.5bn in transactions, followed by healthcare at USD 23.7bn, industrials at USD 20.9bn and business services at USD 18.5bn.

By sector, Churchill led agriculture, industrials and chemicals with 17 deals, while Ares topped transportation with seven. Blackstone Credit, MidCap Financial and TPG Twin Brook jointly led healthcare with 13 deals each. Trinity Capital and Monroe Capital led the TMT sector with 21 deals and a 7% share each.

For a deeper dive into sectoral and other trends, download Debtwire’s full 1H26 US Direct Lender Rankings report.