In 2021, IPOs Outperform Annually in Wall Street History

In just nine months of 2021, the IPOs (Initial Offering of Shares) in Wall Street beat the record for public offerings in a single year.

There were already more public offerings in the first three quarters than in the full year of 1996, which held the all-time record for IPOs.

In 2021, 785 companies went public in the United States, compared to 664 in 1996 – the beginning of the Internet stock craze. In 2020, 555 companies went public.

Dating app Bumble, herbal milk company Oatly and broker Robinhood are among the highest profile “unicorn” companies to go public this year.

Another novelty is shoe retailer Allbirds, which made its debut on Wednesday (3) and shares soared, almost doubling.

Startups are taking advantage of low interest rates and other Federal Reserve stimuli such as SPACs.

SPACs have become popular ways for companies looking to go public with a little less regulatory oversight in the US.

Virgin Galactic (SPCE ), by Richard Branson , DraftKings and the reduced WeWork became public when using the tool. Former President Donald Trump also has plans to merge his new social media company with a SPAC.

Large companies are also choosing to go public through direct stock listings on Wall Street exchanges. Roblox and Coinbase issued shares directly rather than selling new shares in an IPO.

Of course, not all IPOs go off. The Renaissance IPO ETF, which holds shares in large, high-profile companies that went public in recent years such as Roblox, Coinbase, Airbnb and DoorDash, rose just 7% in 2021, trailing broader market gains.

However, the increased demand for regular IPOs shows that many so-called unicorns (startups rated at least $1 billion) are willing to go the good old way of going public.

“A favorable market environment and high valuations encouraged to go public,” says Rachel Gerring, IPO leader at EY Americas. “We are cautiously optimistic that these trends could continue through the end of the year and continue into 2022.”

Rivian electric vehicle manufacturer and Brazilian digital bank Nubank are also set to go public later this month.

*(Translated text. Read the original here)