EY – Global IPO Trends, 4Q 2023

In 2023, the performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) did not align with the strong performance of the stock market. While equity markets were buoyant, IPOs did not perform as well. This could indicate a disconnect between IPOs and the overall market. Additionally, new emerging markets surpassed traditional IPO powerhouses in terms of IPO activity. This suggests that investors are increasingly looking towards these new hotspots for investment opportunities. Despite the underperformance of IPOs in 2023, CEOs are still interested in going public. They are hopeful that the IPO market will improve in 2024, and many are waiting for the right window of opportunity to open. In terms of returns, large IPO debuts have not been as successful as expected. On the other hand, smaller cross-border listings have outperformed larger offerings in terms of after-market returns. This indicates that investors may be favoring smaller, more agile companies in the current market environment. Lastly, there has been a growing backlog of IPOs across various growth sectors. At the same time, there has been a surge in pulled deals, particularly in China. This suggests that some companies are opting to delay or cancel their IPO plans due to the uncertain market conditions.