US IPOs log gradual recovery in 2025, yet still lag recent boom

US IPO activity continued to climb in 2025, but remained well below the highs seen four years earlier.

There were 59 IPOs completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 44 in the same period of 2024, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis. The total amount raised reached $21.22 billion, 141% higher than the $8.82 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Overall, 230 US IPOs were completed in 2025, raising a total of $68.28 billion. By comparison, 141 transactions were completed in 2024, with an aggregate offering amount of $34.97 billion.

While the number of IPOs appears to be rising relatively steadily, they remain well below levels of just a few years prior, when there were nearly twice as many traditional IPOs compared with 2025, according to Mike Bellin, IPO services leader with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"It's well below what we see in a healthy IPO market," Bellin said in an interview.

In 2021, there were 909 transactions with $287.69 billion offered. The number of IPOs that year exceeded the combined total from the following four years by 287, according to the data.

Positive momentum

IPO activity in the US is recovering, albeit gradually, due to "positive momentum" in the US economy, said Nitin Gupta, co-chief investment officer at Flexstone Partners. This is attributed to several factors, including interest rate cuts, better-than-expected GDP growth, a lessening of the expected impact of US tariffs, a liquid credit market and a tech-led rally in stocks since April.

"All of this contributed to a better deal environment and IPO market in the second half of 2025," Gupta said in an interview.

Still, despite the ongoing momentum, markets will need to see broader sector growth outside of rallies in tech stocks and a cooling in geopolitical concerns, which heighten the risks of conflicts and trade uncertainty, according to Gupta.

"That would create a more favorable IPO environment," Gupta said.

Issuance activity should be supported in 2026 as interest rates stabilize, economic growth remains positive and equity investors selectively rotate into high-quality growth names, said West Riggs, head of equity capital markets at Truist Securities.

"I expect that IPOs will ramp throughout the year, with the second half being the busiest time of the year," Riggs said in an interview.

Bellin at PricewaterhouseCoopers said 2025 IPO activity stretched across multiple sectors, with a lot of focus on AI infrastructure and data centers, and many IPOs priced at the top end of the range.

"2025 was a very selective market where the investors rewarded companies with the durable fundamentals, the credible profitability, profitability pathways and strong operating models," Bellin said.

Bellin is optimistic about the IPO market in 2026, citing not only the lower number of IPOs over the past four years but the backlog of companies poised to launch IPOs that have been delayed by stalled reviews during the recent federal government shutdown.

"With that said, there are uncertainties out there around geopolitical events that may or may not disrupt the market and create volatility in the market," Bellin said.