Lincoln Index Shows Private Markets Up 2.8% in Q3 2026
Private company valuations rose for the quarter, but credit stress and higher borrowing costs signal growing divergence across private markets.
Private company valuations climbed 2.8% in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Lincoln Private Market Index released Monday by Lincoln International, a Chicago-based global investment banking advisory firm. The gain reflects continued earnings growth among privately held businesses even as the broader financial environment remains challenging.
Despite the headline advance, Lincoln's data pointed to mounting credit risks within private markets, with pockets of stress becoming more visible across certain sectors and capital structures. Analysts at the firm noted that higher interest rates are increasingly separating stronger performers from more vulnerable borrowers, a dynamic they described as growing differentiation across the asset class.
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The persistence of elevated rates has placed particular pressure on leveraged borrowers, where debt-service burdens have risen alongside financing costs. Lincoln's findings suggest that while top-line earnings have so far supported valuations in aggregate, the underlying credit picture is becoming more nuanced and, in some corners, more fragile.
The Lincoln Private Market Index tracks the performance of privately held companies and is closely watched by institutional investors, private equity sponsors, and lenders seeking a benchmark for an asset class that lacks the real-time pricing transparency of public equities. The Q3 results indicate that private markets have not been immune to the pressures reshaping credit conditions broadly.
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