- 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About 40 companies have withdrawn their IPO filings this year, compared to seven that withdrew plans to go public in 2023.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.
- Rubrik
Ticker: RBRK
IPO Date: April 25
Return since IPO: 112%
- Bowhead Specialty Holdings
Ticker: BOW
IPO Date: May 23
Return since IPO: 118%
- Unusual Machines
Ticker: UMAC
IPO Date: February 14
Return since IPO: 118%
- American Healthcare REIT
Ticker: AHR
IPO Date: February 7
Return since IPO: 138%
- zSpace
Ticker: ZSPC
IPO Date: December 5
Return since IPO: 223%
- Loar Holdings
Ticker: LOAR
IPO Date: April 25
Return since IPO: 227%
- Astera Labs
Ticker: ALAB
IPO Date: March 20
Return since IPO: 239%
- LandBridge Company
Ticker: LB
IPO Date: June 28
Return since IPO: 267%
Ticker: RDDT
IPO Date: March 21
Return since IPO: 379%
- NANO Nuclear Energy
Ticker: NNE
IPO Date: May 8
Return since IPO: 525%