• There's been a 36% increase in initial public offerings compared to 2023.
  • Yet, despite the strong stock market rally, IPO activity remains below 2020 and 2021 levels.
  • The top 10 IPO performers include Reddit and NANO Nuclear Energy, with significant returns.

The IPO market picked up in 2024, with 210 companies going public this year.

Many companies are still reluctant to embark on an initial public offering after the brutal bear market in 2022 shaved more than 20% off of the S&P 500. The hesitation remains, despite the fact that the stock market has soared since then, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 sitting at record highs and 2024 on track to see a second straight year of gains of over 25% for the benchmark index.

About 40 companies have withdrawn their IPO filings this year, compared to seven that withdrew plans to go public in 2023. While 2024's IPO activity represents an increase of 36% compared to last year, it's still well below the IPO activity seen in 2020 and 2021, when 480 and 1,035 companies went public, respectively.

Some of the biggest companies investors are waiting for to go public include Stripe, Klarna, CoreWeave, and SpaceX.

Still, some well-known companies, including Reddit, Ibotta, and Rubrik, debuted on the public markets this year — and some of these companies have delivered massive share gains for investors.

These are the top 10 performing IPOs of US-based companies in 2024, as of December 9.

  1. Rubrik

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: RBRK
IPO Date: April 25
Return since IPO: 112%

  1. Bowhead Specialty Holdings

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: BOW
IPO Date: May 23
Return since IPO: 118%

  1. Unusual Machines

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: UMAC
IPO Date: February 14
Return since IPO: 118%

  1. American Healthcare REIT

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: AHR
IPO Date: February 7
Return since IPO: 138%

  1. zSpace

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: ZSPC
IPO Date: December 5
Return since IPO: 223%

  1. Loar Holdings

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: LOAR
IPO Date: April 25
Return since IPO: 227%

  1. Astera Labs

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: ALAB
IPO Date: March 20
Return since IPO: 239%

  1. LandBridge Company

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: LB
IPO Date: June 28
Return since IPO: 267%

  1. Reddit

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: RDDT
IPO Date: March 21
Return since IPO: 379%

  1. NANO Nuclear Energy

Foto: Business Insider

Ticker: NNE
IPO Date: May 8
Return since IPO: 525%

Read the original article on Business Insider