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 the fiscal year of 2023, the total value of all initial public offerings in the Gulf Cooperation Council was 10.6 billion U.S. dollars. This was a significant decreased compared to the 23 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Finance industry in GCC Low interest rates and low oil prices stimulated a frenzy of debt activity in 2020 and Q1 2021, including multiple government issuances. With oil prices steadily recovering, we may see a short-term adjustment in national debt activity. On the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the UAE's first initial public offering (IPO) in three years emerged. Al Mal Capital REIT was the exchange's first real estate investment fund offering, generating 95 million U.S. dollars. During the year, the UAE introduced several reforms relating to corporate ownership and listing standards, all of which are expected to boost IPOs on local stock exchanges. The value of domestic initial public offerings in the United Arab Emirates was expected to reach 0.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2022. The largest number of IPOs in the GCC region in 2019 was in the consumer goods industry. Islamic fintech The Islamic fintech industry is anticipated to develop rapidly. Islamic fintech is characterized as a financial technology segment that adheres to Sharia law's rules, which include prohibitions on earning from debt, paying interest, and investing in firms associated to alcohol, tobacco, and gambling, among other restraints. In 2020, Saudi Arabia had the largest fintech market, at over 18 billion U.S. dollars.

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 ***. In the following years, however, the number of IPOs decreased and amounted to *** in 2024.

The total number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Europe fluctuated significantly between 2009 and 2024. The number of IPOs reached a total of ** in 2024, the same as during the previous year. The largest number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Europe was found in 2011, when the number of recorded IPOs reached a total of ***.

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) globally decreased by ***** percent, which was **** times less than the decline in the previous year. The Americas and EMEIA, which experienced the steepest declines in 2022, saw increases of ** percent and ***** 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.

The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the London Stock Exchange fluctuated significantly between 2010 and 2025. The number of IPOs reached a total of *** in 2021, the second-highest figure recorded since a peak of *** in 2014. However, it witnessed a significant decline in the following years, with only ** IPOs recorded in 2024. As of March 2025, the number further decreased to *, indicating a similar trend when compared to the previous year.

More initial public offerings (IPOs) occurred in India in 2024 than any other region or country worldwide, with ***. The United States followed, with *** IPOs in that year. The ASEAN countries rounded up the top three, with a combined number of IPOs amounting to ***. 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.

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 *** 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 ** SPAC IPOs in 2023, and ** 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 ** 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 *** 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 **** percent of SPAC IPOs completed globally came from Europe.

In 2023, *** Indian companies raised over *** 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.

IPO activity on the B3 stock exchange in Brazil increased significantly in 2021. Throughout the year there were ** IPOs. By contrast, in 2022 and in 2023, there were no initial public offering (IPO) on the Brazilian stock exchange.

In total, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2024 was **, less than the number of IPOs of 2023. Among these, more than half of the IPOs took place on the alternative investment market (AIM).

IPO activity in Europe reached a **** year high throughout 2021, with over *** new listings on European exchanges. Since then, initial public offerings (IPOs) experienced a significant reduction in Europe. In the first three quarters of 2024, there were ** IPOs on European exchanges.

In 2023, a total of 414 companies went public on stock exchanges in Greater China. The number was lower than in the previous year despite the economic recovery after the outbreak of COVID-19. In recent years, stock exchanges in mainland China were able to increase their attractiveness for Chinese companies. As a result, more companies list on domestic stock markets.

In 2023, there was *** initial public offering (IPOs) on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), the same as the previous year. Between 2018 and 2023, there were a total of ** IPOs.

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.

The total number of initial public offerings (IPOs) on SIX Swiss Exchange fluctuated significantly in recent years. In 2023, there were ** IPOs on the SIX Swiss Exchange, a decrease compared the previous year when there were ** IPOs on the Swiss Exchange.

In 2021, the NASDAQ Stock Market based in New York City was the leading stock exchange globally in terms of the number of IPOs filed. Throughout 2021, *** IPOs were completed on the NASDAQ, which was almost twice as many as in the previous year. The Shanghai Stock Exchange was home to the highest number of IPOs in 2020 and in second place in 2021.

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

The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) fluctuated significantly between 2014 and 2023. The number of IPOs reached a total of *** in 2023, same as the previous year. The highest number of IPOs in the region was found in 2017, when the number of recorded IPOs reached a total of ***.

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