Global IPO market overview
Global IPO proceeds improved in 2024, but while some IPO markets performed strongly, others faced a challenging year. In 2025, regional markets appear set to drive IPO themes
Global IPO markets delivered improved year-on-year performance in 2024, with some regions contributing more than others. The outlook for 2025 remains broadly positive, although an escalating trade tariff standoff among certain major economies could weigh on activity
After an incredibly challenging two years, global IPO markets are back on an upward trajectory.
Falling interest rates in key markets encouraged IPO candidates to come to market in 2024, resulting in a five percent jump in year-on-year IPO proceeds. Momentum has carried into the early months of 2025. In the US, liquefied natural gas exporter Venture Global raised US$1.75 billion from its IPO, Chinese bubble tea maker Mixue landed a US$444 million IPO in Hong Kong and, in Amsterdam, luxury logistics company Ferrari Group performed well in early trading after listing at a market capitalization of US$818 million.
However, the headlines do not tell the full story, as global activity was driven by very local themes. While some IPO markets thrived, others had a more challenging year.
India and the Middle East were the two standout regions for IPOs in 2024. India consolidated its position in 2024 as the busiest IPO market in the world by deal count, while the Middle East delivered large, groundbreaking listings.
The US and Europe saw improved annual IPO issuance as interest rates decreased. But they still have some ground to make up to get back to pre-pandemic activity levels.
In other regions, launching new listings has been challenging. In China, domestic economic headwinds have put the brakes on IPOs on mainland stock exchanges, although Chinese issuers have been able to proceed with listings on Hong Kong and US exchanges. Meanwhile, in Latin America, activity has been hampered by sustained high interest rates in the crucial Brazilian market.
As 2025 unfolds, this regional patchwork of localized themes looks set to continue shaping the global picture.
The macroeconomic environment for IPO activity is significantly more supportive than it was a year ago, as interest rates appear to have peaked. However, the impact of the United States’ tariff policy will be felt across global markets. The US has imposed and rescinded tariffs on various trading partners, creating uncertainty for investors and supply chains.
IPO opportunities should continue to emerge in 2025, but in a more complex world, investors will be analyzing developments in global trade and using a regional lens to identify the best IPO deals.
Global IPO proceeds improved in 2024, but while some IPO markets performed strongly, others faced a challenging year. In 2025, regional markets appear set to drive IPO themes
US IPO markets entered 2025 well positioned for a promising year as stabilizing interest rates, a business-friendly US administration and the pressing need for private equity firms to exit portfolio companies laid the foundation for a favorable IPO environment, but uncertainty regarding US tariffs and retaliatory actions by other nations, and continuing market volatility have weighed on early offering
Although European IPO markets still trail pre-pandemic levels, they began an upward trajectory in 2024, with an encouraging pipeline of new IPO candidates lined up for 2025. Regulators, issuers and investors are not resting on their laurels and continue to sustain long-term growth and competitiveness
The Asia-Pacific region had to contend with a slowdown in new listings in mainland China, but another bumper year for India's IPO market, which consolidated its position as the most active IPO hub globally, helped to lift overall activity in the region
Long-term policy initiatives supporting the development of capital markets in the Middle East are paying off, with stock markets across the region supporting a cluster of large state-backed and private sector IPOs in 2024
Global IPO activity showed steady progress in 2024. Although geopolitical volatility still lingers, the foundations are in place for another solid year
US IPO markets entered 2025 well positioned for a promising year as stabilizing interest rates, a business-friendly US administration and the pressing need for private equity firms to exit portfolio companies laid the foundation for a favorable IPO environment, but uncertainty regarding US tariffs and retaliatory actions by other nations, and continuing market volatility have weighed on early offerings
US IPOs showed steady gains in 2024 as inflation stabilized and interest rates edged downward in the fourth quarter, putting the US stock market flotations in a strong position at the start of 2025.
For the second year in a row, US IPO proceeds (incl. SPACs) increased, reaching US$41.36 billion in 2024, a 75 percent increase compared to 2023 levels, although still significantly below pre-pandemic amounts.
The US continued to lead the world for IPO proceeds (nearly doubling the levels recorded in India, the next-largest jurisdiction by IPO proceeds) and remained the single largest market for cross-border listings, underscoring the depth and flexibility of the US capital markets.
The positive impact of an improving US IPO market in 2024 has carried into 2025. IPO figures for January 2025 compare favorably with January 2024, with US IPOs up from 17 to 29, and US IPO deal value rising from US$3.45 billion to US$5.1 billion.
The pipeline for additional IPOs is encouraging. As of March 5, 2025, there were 57 pending F-1 filings (IPO registration statements filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by foreign issuers) and 134 pending S-1 filings (SEC registration statements filed with the SEC by US domestic issuers). Other high-profile companies that are widely discussed as potentially proceeding with US listings in 2025 include video game app Discord, while buy-now-pay-later fintech Klarna filed for a US IPO in the middle of March, in a deal that could value the company at up to US$15 billion.
The business-friendly approach of the new US administration, which is expected to reduce taxes, roll back regulations and support additional investment in areas such as cryptocurrency, will encourage IPO activity. The nomination of Paul Atkins, a crypto supporter who favors deregulation, for chair of the SEC, and the appointment of SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda (who is in favor of opening up private markets to more investors), as acting SEC chair, have clearly signaled that the new US administration will take a lighter touch approach to market regulation.
The US administration is also expected to offer strong support for the technology and artificial intelligence (AI) industries given the endorsement of Stargate, a US$100 billion joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle, set up to finance AI infrastructure development.
Meanwhile, the administration's recent energy policy aims to incentivize traditional energy sources while reducing incentives for renewable energy, with the goal of lowering energy prices by increasing supply. As a result, the first major IPO under the new administration was liquified natural gas exporter Venture Global, which is also the largest oil & gas IPO within the past decade. Generally, the new energy policies are driving natural gas prices and related stocks higher, although Venture Global has traded below its IPO price.
However, the pro-business stance of the new administration has been counter-balanced by uncertainty around tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, the US's three largest trading partners.
The impact of general global import taxes targeting products such as foreign automobiles, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products on economic growth has weighed on some offerings in early 2025 and will remain on the radar for prospective issuers.
Additionally, the US administration's effort to limit illegal immigration and deport undocumented immigrants may reduce the labor supply and, as a result, could have an impact on inflation and disrupt the labor force.
Overall, the new US administration is seen as a net positive for capital markets activity. While US IPO proceeds are still lagging pre-pandemic numbers, there is measured optimism that a more settled interest rate outlook and business-friendly US administration will support healthy IPO activity in 2025.
For investors, the solid aftermarket performance of new IPOs is a key determinant of whether to back new flotations or make allocations to businesses already listed. The strong returns delivered by 2024 IPOs bode well for the year ahead.
Nine of the ten largest IPOs in 2024 ended the year trading above their pre-listing prices, with half—most notably Reddit—achieving triple-digit gains, according to the Financial Times.
However, the performance of the wider stock market will influence the post-IPO trading of newly listed companies, and it remains to be seen how equity markets will react to the imposition of tariffs throughout 2025. Investors have become more sensitive to concentration risk after the launch of a new AI-powered chatbot by Chinese company DeepSeek, which impacted the stock market valuations of major US tech giants.
IPO stakeholders will be hoping for a meaningful increase in private equity-backed portfolio company listings, as buyout firm managers—who have held onto assets during a period of uncertainty and deal valuation disruption due to interest rate hikes—take advantage of a more stable backdrop to clear backlogs of unsold portfolio companies.
According to McKinsey, the number of unsold private equity-backed portfolio companies is now at an all-time high.
After sitting tight, private equity managers will be eager to start harvesting returns, with IPOs one of the main routes to liquidity.
US markets have already seen an uptick in private equity-backed IPOs during the past 12 months. EY figures show that sponsor-backed IPOs have accounted for close to 30 percent of the listings on US exchanges in 2024, almost double the 17 percent market share posted in 2023. Notable sponsor-backed listings in 2025 to date include Thoma Bravo–backed enterprise security company SailPoint's US$1.4 billion IPO in February.
Private equity portfolio company listings have the potential to increase again in 2025, with private equity-backed software company Genesys and medical devices group Medline among a cluster of sponsor portfolio companies that have already filed paperwork with regulators ahead of potential IPOs.
For companies seeking capital, IPOs are also becoming more attractive compared to other options such as private credit. Equity capital is more flexible than private credit, which has become more expensive due to rising interest rates and has proven to be more challenging to restructure. Higher interest rates on private credit loans—compared to banks loans—can also intensify risk. Thus, in the current environment, equity capital raised through an IPO can be more attractive.
Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) IPOs are also on track for a more positive 2025. There were eight SPAC IPOs in the US in January 2025, securing proceeds of US$1.13 billion. In January 2024, by contrast, only one SPAC IPO progressed, securing proceeds of just US$58 million.
The SPAC space boomed in 2021 at the peak of the market, but subsequently fell sharply because of mixed performance and the impact of SEC regulation.
SPAC volumes are highly unlikely to reach the peak levels observed prior to the increasing interest rate cycles, but with a smaller, more select group of SPACS coming to the market, activity levels are poised to improve compared to 2023 and 2024. The US$287.5 million IPO of K&F Growth Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC that will target a business combination in the experiential entertainment industry, in February, was one of a number of SPAC IPOs that set the scene for further SPAC listings in the year ahead.
Meanwhile, the de-SPAC market (where companies obtain a public listing through a business combination deal with a SPAC rather than through a direct IPO) have also proved to be an appealing route to capital formation for companies.
De-SPAC deals provide a longer and more flexible public marketing period for price discovery, can be structured to include earn-outs to bridge valuation gaps, and can be structured to provide capital certainty through a PIPE or non-redemption agreements, which are some of the attributes that have been proven to be attractive through recent macroeconomic uncertainty.
Like SPAC IPOs, de-SPAC deal volumes have dropped from the peak of the market. There were 44 de-SPAC deals involving US target companies in 2024, generating combined deal value of US$23.83 billion. Although down from 2023 figures (80 de-SPAC deals valued at US$27.53 billion), 2024 numbers still represent meaningful levels of deal flow and show that taking a company to a listing with a de-SPAC deal remains a viable pathway to public markets.
Indeed, de-SPAC deals led by US-listed SPACs have started the year with four deals for a combined deal value of US$654.82 billion proceeding in January 2025. The US$949 million de-SPAC transaction announced in February by Helix Acquisition Corp. and BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, which included a US$260 million PIPE (representing committed capital), was a particularly positive sign in the market.
For all IPO candidates, asset quality will be key. Investors have the appetite to support new stock market flotations, but will focus allocations on high-quality businesses with proven track records and current or near-term profitability.
Investors will be reluctant to back IPOs without credible, long-term growth stories. Marginal deals—where an IPO serves as a deleveraging play or involves a growth company yet to deliver a proven track record of consistent profitability or demonstrate a path to near-term profitability—will be challenging to push forward, even in an improving market.
With US IPO activity set to build on the progress it made in 2024, listings of high- quality companies will be the key driver for sustaining the US IPO recovery.
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