IPO Market Resilient Despite Dip in IPOs

Our last update on Nasdaq’s U.S. and Stockholm IPO Pulses was on April 10 — the day after the Liberation Day tariffs were suspended for 90 days until July 9 (since extended to August 1). 

At that time, the Nasdaq-100® and the S&P 500 had just bounced from their lows for the year and were still about 15% off their previous highs.

A falling stock market and increased volatility weighed on the IPO Pulses, pushing our U.S. and Stockholm IPO Pulses into downturns, signaling fewer IPOs ahead.

Of course, the downturn in the Nasdaq IPO Pulse wasn’t just about tariffs. 

The IPO Pulse actually peaked last October and has been slowing since then. But the downturn certainly accelerated in March and April as the stock market sold off, with the IPO Pulse falling to a 1½-year low in April (chart below, blue line).

108 U.S. IPOs in H1 2025

U.S. IPO activity slowed only modestly in Q2 2025 to 50 operating companies from 58 in Q1.

Combined, the 108 operating companies IPOs in the first half (green bars) marks the third strongest first half in the last 10 years, trailing only 2018 and 2021. And H1 capital raised increased 40% year-on-year to $27bn!

In short, IPO activity was actually relatively strong to start 2025 compared to recent years (especially if we exclude the zero-interest rate period after Covid).

Chart 1: After falling to a 1½-year low in April, the Nasdaq IPO Pulse has increased for two months

U.S. IPO activity was broad-based across sectors

IPO activity was also broad-based, with 10 out of 11 sectors having at least one IPO. And six sectors had at least 10 IPOs, led by Industrials with 29 IPOs (chart below).

Interestingly, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have also rebounded, with an addition of 62 SPAC IPOs in the first half – more than all of 2023 (31) or 2024 (57).

We are also proud to say that the bulk of IPO activity has occurred on Nasdaq (blue portions of bars), with an 80+% win rate in the first half.

Chart 2: Even with modest slowing in Q2, IPO activity was relatively strong in H1

Despite fewer IPOs, Stockholm capital raised up 500+% in H1 2025

The story is similar for the Nasdaq Stockholm IPO Pulse. 

It peaked in mid-2024 – long before tariffs weighed on markets. But its downturn also accelerated in March and April, pulling the Nasdaq Stockholm IPO Pulse down to a 1½-year low by April (chart below, blue line).

Following the mid-2024 peak in the Stockholm IPO Pulse, IPO counts peaked in Q4 2024 and have slowed in each of the last two quarters (green bars).

But this slowdown in the count of IPOs overlooks the strength in Stockholm and Nasdaq’s other European venues more broadly. 

Specifically, Nasdaq Stockholm had the biggest European IPO this year – Asker Healthcare – and three of the top five IPOs in Europe. And Nasdaq Stockholm saw its capital raised increase over 500% year-over-year to €1.9 billion in H1, even as the European IPO market saw its capital raised fall 65% to €3.7 billion in the first half.

And, like the U.S. IPO Pulse, the Stockholm IPO Pulse has also increased in May and June, reaching a three-month high. So, if it continues to recover, the downturn in Stockholm IPO counts may well end soon, too.

Chart 3: Stockholm IPO counts slowed in H1 2025, even as capital raised rebounded

Just like the market, the IPO downturn may be short lived too

While we have seen some slowdown in the number of operating companies going public, it’s been relatively mild, and capital raised actually rose significantly year-on-year in the U.S. and Stockholm, despite market volatility and the initial tariff sell-off.

If the recent upticks in both IPO Pulses continue, it’s possible the downturns in U.S. and Stockholm IPO activity last just a quarter or two, helped by the markets’ quick recovery from tariff fears and a solid pipeline of private equity.