On September 13, 2023, Arm Holdings plc raised 5.2 billion U.S. dollars on its public debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market, making it the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the United States in 2023. Only three of the ten largest IPOs in the U.S. that year each raised over one billion U.S. dollars in capital.

Why do companies go public?

Private companies have limited access to capital and mainly use traditional sources to finance their expenditures. While such firms have more freedom to operate without reporting to investors, this also blocks the companies from raising access directly from the public. The value raised by IPOs can be significant. In hopes of gaining access to this capital, the number of IPOs in the United States generally exceeds 100 firms each year.

Risks of an IPO

IPO is a long and costly process. It necessitates cooperation with investment advisory firms to ensure that all requirements are met and that the process is optimally planned. A public company is subject to governmental and public scrutiny – any negative information, such as rumors about insider trading, can result in falling stock prices. Also, the time when going public is crucial. Even a prospering company can have a very low return in times of recession.

Arm Holdings plc is a British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England, had the largest initial public offering (IPO) worldwide in 2023, worth over five billion U.S. dollars. The American consumer health company Kenvue Inc. was the protagonist of the second-largest global IPO of the year, a deal worth 4.4 billion U.S. dollars. China had both a total of three companies in the list of top ten global IPOs in 2023.

In 2023, companies operating in the industrials sector were the most active on stock exchanges worldwide, with a total number of 265 initial public offerings (IPOs), and closely followed by the technology sector, with 264 IPOs.

2021 was quite a year for initial public offers (IPOs) in the United States, which was largely influenced by the significant rise in the number of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) who went public. In 2021, there were ***** initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States. In 2022 and 2023, however, the number of IPOs dropped to *** and *** respectively. 2024 saw a rise in the number of IPOs, reaching *** by the end of the year. What does it mean to go public? The management of a private company has a lot of control over its operation, but raising funds from investors is more difficult. To access funds from regular investors, that is the general public, firms go public by offering stock shares at a certain price. As a result, these firms often have more capital to work with. An IPO can, and often does, raise ******** of dollars for a firm. However, publicly traded companies also face increased regulation and disclosure requirements. Staying private Some firms delay going public for a longer time, in spite of their increasing value. If their valuation goes above *********** U.S. dollars, these firms are called unicorns, and the highest valued unicorns are mostly based in the U.S. and China. Some firms, such as SpaceX, are still heavily investing in research and development projects, which shareholders often dislike due to low short-run dividends. At the moment, most unicorns are found in the technology sector, which is also the leading sector for IPOs in the United States. This indicates that investors consider this to be the industry most likely to see growth, and thus most worth investing in when companies go public.

In 2023, the majority of all global IPO proceeds came from IPOs completed on stock exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region, which accounted for 56 percent of the total. The value of IPO proceeds raised in Asia-Pacific reached 69.4 billion U.S. dollars. The Asia-Pacific region also boasted the highest number of IPOs during 2022.

In 2023, IPOs proceeds worldwide decreased among most sectors. The only sector experiencing an increase in proceeds value was the consumer one, which grew 66 percent ocmpared to 2022. On the other hand, the energy sector experienced the highest decrease, at 61 percent.

In 2023, biotech company Apogee Therapeutics from Massachusetts had an IPO valued at 345 million U.S. dollars. This statistic shows the leading U.S. biotech companies by value of their initial public offerings (IPOs), as reported for 2023.

In 2024, the total value of traditional IPOs in the United States increased slightly but remained one of the lowest figures since 2000, amounting to **** billion U.S. dollars. The gross proceeds for 2022, on the other hand, amounted to *** billion U.S. dollars, the lowest figure ever recorded during this period. However, SPAC IPOs proceeds amounted to *** billion U.S. dollars in 2024.

More initial public offerings (IPOs) occurred in China in 2023 than any other region or country worldwide, with 302. India followed, with 220 IPOs in that year. And the ASEAN countries rounded up the top three, with a combined number of IPOs amounting to 157. Why make an IPO? Private companies have a lot of control over their companies, but their funding sources are limited. While some of these companies have achieved valuations over one billion U.S. dollars, called unicorns, most have trouble finding the cash to grow their business. To open themselves to public investors, they make an initial offering of shares of stock. The largest IPOs are worth billions of U.S. dollars. Timing is everything The timing of an IPO can have a huge impact on its performance, which is as important for investors as it is for the companies themselves. As such, many investors watch to see who is next in line to make an IPO. The right play at the wrong time is the wrong play and might result in a negative return. While underwriters and consultants can mitigate some risk factors, markets are inherently unpredictable. As such, an IPO always carries risk, with hopes of the reward of an infusion of capital.

Since the IPO on the Nasdaq Stock Market on March 28, 2023, Jin Medical International's stock price has increased from eight U.S. dollars to 237.51 U.S. dollars as of Feburary 7, 2024, to $1.84B, an increase of nearly 3,000 percent.

This statistic displays the leading biotechnology IPOs on stock exchanges based on amount raised during 2023, focusing on R&D discovery biotech firms. In that year, U.S. company Acelyrin from California raised 540 million U.S. dollars.

In 2023, the stock exchange in Shanghai recorded 103 initial public offerings, which was the second-highest number among all bourses in Greater China. After establishing the Star-A market at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the popularity of the bourse increased significantly.

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) globally decreased by eight percent, which was five times less than the decline in the previous year. The Americas and EMEIA, which experienced the steepest declines in 2022, saw increases of 15 percent and seven percent, respectively, in 2023. The year-on year change in IPO proceeds in each region exceeded the decrease in the number of IPOs, except for the Americas.

In 2023, the total number of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Nasdaq Nordic amounted to 23. The most active market was the Stockholm Stock Exchange with 19 transactions.

Not all IPOs result in long-term gains for the respective company; however, the average year-end gains for all companies that went public in the United States have been mostly positive each year over the past decade. In 2023, however, the average returns amounted to a negative 56 percent in the first year after their IPO.

Between 2023 and the first half of 2024, the intial public offering (IPO) of Rusta on the Stockholm Stock Exchange was the largest on the Nasdaq Nordic marekts. The IPO of one of Sweden's largest retailers in October 2023 raised nearly 200 million euros. The second-largest was Prisma Properties' IPOs in June 2024, also on the Sweden Stock Exchange, which raised 140 million euros.

In 2023, the issued size of listed initial public offerings (IPOs) in Thailand amounted to over 38 million Thai baht, which was an increase compared to the previous year. The issued size of IPOs was highest in 2013, which amounted to around 191.6 million Thai baht.

In 2023, 243 Indian companies raised over 8.4 billion U.S. dollars through initial public offerings (IPO) in public markets. Although the number of IPOs was much higher than the previous year, companies raised a higher amount in 2022.

At nearly ** billion U.S. dollars, the 2014 initial public offering (IPO) of Alibaba Group Holding Limited remains the largest IPO in the United States ever. Trailing by almost **** billion U.S. dollars, Visa takes second place, followed by ENEL SpA, an energy company based in Italy. What is an IPO? An IPO is when a private company offers shares to the public for the first time through a stock exchange. Companies do this to raise money, as seen with Alibaba. However, public companies are subject to more scrutiny, such as publishing quarterly reports for investors. Also, not all IPOs are profitable. A bad IPO can result in significant losses. Companies that could go public Unicorns are private companies valued over a billion U.S. dollars. Any of these could go public, raising significant funds. However, most IPOs are valued in the ********, not ********. The median deal size of these offerings in the United States tends to be a little more than *** million U.S. dollars. Investors keep a watch for the next IPO, since a strong offering means high returns for those who buy the stock early.

Initial IPO returns in the United States fluctuated between 2005 and 2023. Throughout the period considered, 2020 was the best year for first-day gains, amounting to 23 percent. In 2023, the average first-day gain after an IPO in the U.S. was zero percent, as IPOs maintained their offering prices on their first day of trading.