Wall Street's IPO revival hasn't reached dot-com euphoria levels, Goldman Sachs says
Key takeaways
- IPO activity has doubled year over year, with issuance already matching 2021's record pace by dollar value.
- Roughly 50 companies have gone public in the U.S. so far in 2026, about double the number during the same period a year earlier, according to the bank's research.
- "To some extent, what's happening is just a normal recovery," Ben Snider, Goldman Sachs' chief U.S. equity strategist, said on the bank's Exchanges podcast on Tuesday.
IPO activity has doubled year over year, with issuance already matching 2021's record pace by dollar value. Despite elevated valuations and AI-driven investor enthusiasm, the bank noted that IPO volumes remain well below dot-com and pandemic-era peaks. Payward, Ledger and Grayscale have paused IPO plans this year as volatile crypto markets and softer investor demand weighed on new listings, according to CoinDesk reporting.The U.S. IPO market is enjoying its strongest rebound in years, but Goldman Sachs says the resurgence doesn't yet resemble the speculative frenzy of the dot-com bubble.
Roughly 50 companies have gone public in the U.S. so far in 2026, about double the number during the same period a year earlier, according to the bank's research. By deal value, issuance has already reached roughly $120 billion at the year's midpoint, matching the full-year record set in 2021.
"To some extent, what's happening is just a normal recovery," Ben Snider, Goldman Sachs' chief U.S. equity strategist, said on the bank's Exchanges podcast on Tuesday. He also pointed to a wave of large companies coming to market and strong demand for capital to fund artificial intelligence development.