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.

From 2010 to 2019, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange fluctuated. After that period, sharp increases were recorded for the number of deals. The largest jump in number of IPOs was in 2021 when deal volume peaked at 753. In the following years, however, the number of IPOs decreased and amounted to 171 in 2024.

Between January and December 2024, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) combined were the leading stock market worldwide in terms of number of initial public offering (IPO) deals. IPOs on the NSE and BSE were ***. The Nasdaq was second in the list, with *** IPO deals throughout 2024.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian multinational petroleum and natural gas company, on the Tadawul in December 2019, was the largest public offering globally ever as of December 2024. The IPO of Saudi Aramco raised approximately **** billion U.S. dollars. Why do companies opt for IPOs? An initial public offering (IPO), also known as ‘going public’, is the company’s first stock sale to the public. IPO happens when an initially private company decides to open up to the stock market, taking the first step to become a publicly traded enterprise. Shares are traded in the open market after the initial sales, and any public investor can take part on the trade. In the United States alone, *** companies made their public-market debut in 2023. IPOs are made by different companies for a number of reasons. Smaller sized companies may seek an IPO for access to capital and cheaper credit for further expansion. Other companies that may already be of considerable size, however, may use an initial public offering to other ends. Opening up to the stock market can also facilitate merger and acquisitions, considering stocks can be part of a future deal. Chinese companies feature twice Two Chinese companies featured in the list as of 2024. Alibaba had the second largest after Saudi Aramco, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in tenth place. Alibaba is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (as well as the Hong Kong Exchange), making the company’s IPO also the largest one in the U.S. to date. ICBC is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In 2024, there were **** initial public offerings (IPOs) in Germany, compared to ***** in 2023. The IPOs displayed refer to the EU regulated market (Prime Standard), which is an organized market as well as a legally regulated stock segment where conditions for approval and follow-up obligations are also regulated by the law.

Between 2011 and 2019, the value of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the New York Stock Exchange fluctuated. After 2019, IPO deals value increased considerably. In 2020, the size of IPO deals increased threefold compared to the previous year. In 2021, IPOs deals on the NYSE reached a total value of 109.2 billion U.S. dollars.

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.

Between 2011 and 2017, value of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Nasdaq stock exchange fluctuated. After 2018, increases in IPO values accelerated. In both 2020 and 2021, the size of IPO deals more than doubled compared to the previous year. Since then, however, IPO deal value on the Nasdaq stock market decreased sharply and went back to pre-2018 levels.

In 2024, the value of IPOs on the Deutsche Börse was 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. The size of IPOs on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Deutsche Börse) reached a 20-year peak in 2018, then decreased tenfold by 2020. In 2022, Porsche's IPO, the only IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that year, raised over nine billion euros. The IPOs displayed refer to the EU regulated market (Prime Standard), which is an organized market as well as a legally regulated stock segment where conditions for approval and follow-up obligations are also regulated by the law.

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.

In 2024, there were 63 initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) Growth market in Japan. At the same time, there were four new listings on the TSE Prime market. The total number of IPOs on the TSE amounted to 130 in 2024.

In 2024, the largest initial public offering (IPO) on the German Stock Exchange (Deutsche Börse) was that of Douglas AG, which was valued at nearly one billion euros. The IPOs displayed refer to the EU regulated market (Prime Standard), which is an organized market as well as a legally regulated stock segment where conditions for approval and follow-up obligations are also regulated by the law.

2020 and 2021 were a record year for SPAC IPO filings, even though they had been steadily growing in popularity over the last decade. In 2021, SPACs had raised capital in 613 IPOs in that year alone. A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a company with no business operations which is set up for the sole purpose of raising capital through an initial public offering with the goal of buying an existing company. The U.S. ranked second globally in terms of traditional IPO numbers, with the highest number of traditional IPOs occurring in mainland China. In comparison, there were 31 SPAC IPOs in 2023, and 57 in 2024.. How have SPAC IPOs historically performed in the U.S.? From 2003 to 2019, the funds raised by SPAC IPOs remained somewhat consistent, with the value of funds never exceeding 11 billion U.S. dollars except in 2003 and 2019. SPAC IPOs raised the largest amount of funds between January and December 2021, with the value of funds raised surpassing 160 billion U.S. dollars. In the previous year, SPAC IPOs raised more funds than all preceding years combined. The U.S. vs Europe While SPAC IPOs in the U.S. have been slowly increasing over the past six years, numbers have remained significantly lower in Europe. Europe has still not seen annual SPAC IPO numbers exceed nine per year, while those in the U.S. have increased more each year, reaching a significant high-point in 2020 that is expected to be further surpassed by the end of 2021. During the first three months of 2021, less than five percent of SPAC IPOs completed globally came from Europe.

In 2024, the majority of all global IPO proceeds came from IPOs completed on stock exchanges in the *****************************************************, which accounted for nearly half of the total. The value of IPO proceeds raised in the ***** region reached **** billion U.S. dollars. The the ***** region also boasted the highest number of IPOs during 2024.

2021 was an exceptional year for IPO deals worldwide, with proceeds exceeding 450 billion U.S. dollars. In 2022 and 2023, however, the value of IPO proceeds decreased significantly compared to 2020 and 2021.

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.

Between January and December 2024, the United States was by far the top destination worldwide for cross-border initial public offerings (IPOs), counting 101 of them. The United Kingdom hosted three foreign IPOs. Norway, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands followed in the ranking with two IPOs each.

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.

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.

2021 saw the highest IPO activity worldwide, with a total of 2,436 initial public offerings (IPOs) taking place. Despite the uncertain environment created by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 broke previous records in terms of IPO deals.