At nearly 22 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 four 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 millions, not billions. The median deal size of these offerings in the United States tends to be a little more than 100 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.

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 25.6 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, 154 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, Lineage Inc, a U.S. based warehouse real estate investment trust (REIT), had the largest IPO worldwide, worth over five billion U.S. dollars. Hyundai Motor India Ltd had the second-largest IPO of 2024, at 3.3 billion U.S dollars.

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.

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.

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.

Cit was the underwriter of the initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco in April 2019. At almost 29 billion U.S. dollars, this was the largest all-time IPO globally as of October 2021. This was followed by Alibaba's 2014 IPO worth just over 21 billion U.S. dollars, underwritten by Credit Suisse.

Who were the leading underwriters in the U.S.?
Underwriting is the process through which an investment bank (the underwriter) acts as a broker between the issuing company and the investing public to help the issuing company sell its initial set of shares. As of October 2021, the underwriters of the largest IPOs in the United States were Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan – the combined value of their underwritten IPOs reaching almost 70 billion U.S. dollars. When taking a company public, investment banks charge underwriting fees, which are the largest single direct cost associated with an IPO. In 2020, the underwriting fees for deals in the U.S. which were valued between 500 million and one billion U.S. dollars, amounted to more than five percent of the gross proceeds from the offering.

What does the global IPO market look like? Going public is typically a way for private companies to raise capital for expansion, although venture capitalists can also use IPOs as exit strategies. In 2020, mainland China had the largest number of traditional IPOs than any other region worldwide. This was followed by the United States, which saw a significant increase in the number of IPOs that year.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Puig Brands, listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange, was the largest public offering in Europe in 2024. The IPO of the company was worth over 2.6 billion euros. An initial public offering (IPO), also known as ‘going public’, is the company’s first stock sale to the public. The largest all-time IPO worldwide was worth more than 20 billion euros.

At almost 22 billion U.S. dollars in deal size, Alibaba’s IPO in 2014, underwritten by Credit Suisse, was the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, followed by Visa's 2008 IPO, underwritten by JP Morgan. How big is Alibaba? The Alibaba Group Holding, a hugely profitable Chinese company operating in the e-commerce sector, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. This was a critical IPO because it gave private investors a chance to reach into the Chinese market. The company sells trillions of yuan in merchandise each year. For a company that was already handling volume on that magnitude at the time of its IPO, a skilled underwriter like Credit Suisse was crucial for and IPO. Why does an IPO need an underwriter? An IPO is a complicated process. Even a larger firm like Alibaba does not have specialists in the kind of regulations placed on the process, so they are willing to pay significant underwriter fees to ensure a successful IPO. This risk can pay off with high returns if conditions are correct, but a significant number of IPOs also have negative first day returns.

As of December 2024, the largest IPO in the UK took place in 2011 by Glencore International, the world's largest natural resource company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, with a total market capitalization at IPO of 36 billion British pounds.

Up to 2023, the life insurance group AIA ranked first with an IPO volume amounting to around 159.08 billion Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong had been a popular destination for mainland Chinese companies to raise funds.

As of December 2023, the multinational commodity trading and mining company Glencore International had the largest all-time IPO on the London Stock Exchange. The Anglo-Swiss company debuted on the LSE in May 2011 with an opening price of 36.34 billion British pounds. An initial public offering is the process by which the shares of a private company are sold to public investors for the first time.

In 2023, the largest initial public offering in China was Hua Hong Semiconductor Limited's listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This IPO raised nearly three billion U.S. dollars. The second-largest IPO was that of Semiconductor Manufacturing Electronics (Shaoxing) Corporation, which raised 1.6 billion U.S. dollars.

The statistics presents the all-time largest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United Kingdom (UK) as of December 2024, by money raised. As of April 2024, the largest IPO in the UK took place in 2011 by Glencore International, a natural resource company headquartered in Switzerland, with approximately 6.2 billion British pounds raised.

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.

Between 2022 and 2024, the initial public offering (IPO) of Galderman Group was the largest on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The IPO which took place in March 2024 was valued at 2.5 billion U.S. dollars. The second-largest IPO during the three-year period was that of Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co., worth 718 million U.S. dollars.

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.

In 2023, Lottomatica Group had the largest IPO of the year on the Euronext Stock Exchange. The company's listing in Milan raised 600 million euros in proceeds. The second-largest IPO was also on the Milan Stock Exchange: Admiral Acquisition raised 507 million euros through its IPO.

In 2023, the largest initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange involved the stock market debut of Amicorp FS (UK) Plc. In June 2023, Amicorp FS (UK) Plc had an opening market capitalization of 144 million British pounds. World Chess Plc had the second largest IPO of the year, reaching a market cpaitalization of 40 million British pounds.

In 2023, the initial public offering (IPO) of Hua Hong Semiconductor Limited at the Shanghai Stock Exchange was the largest in the Greater China region, with a total of 2.98 billion U.S. dollars in raised funds. The slow post-covid recovery of the Chinese economy also impacts the financial industry. Not only had the number of IPOs decreased, the prominence of the companies that decided to raise funds on the capital market had changed as well.