Quarterly global IPOs fall to lowest level since 2020

Initial public offerings continued to decline in the first quarter of 2023 as the number of companies going public touched their lowest quarterly total since 2020.

There were 332 IPOs launched worldwide in the first quarter, 127 fewer than in the first quarter of 2022 and 522 fewer than in the same period two years ago, according to the latest S&P Global Market Intelligence data. IPO growth slowed as central banks continued to tighten monetary conditions and the specter of a possible global recession remained.

The cumulative worth of the securities offered in those IPOs fell to $23.15 billion in the first quarter, the smallest aggregate since the first quarter of 2019 when IPOs totaled $18.99 billion. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, the amount offered in IPOs has fallen 89%.

US stalls

In the US, IPO activity remained near 2022 lows to start 2023. There were 24 IPOs launched in the first quarter of 2023, up from 19 a quarter earlier but down from 71 in the first quarter of 2022 and a sharper drop from the same quarter in 2021 when 357 were launched.

As of April 13, the S&P 500 was up nearly 8.0% in 2023. Still, the large-cap index was down 13.5% from its peak in January 2022.

First-quarter 2023 IPOs in the US were valued at an aggregate $2.52 billion, less than 2% of the $132.18 billion offered in the first quarter of 2021.

More than half of the amount offered from IPOs in the first quarter of 2023 were from just three companies: Nextracker Inc., Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. and Mineralys Therapeutics Inc.

Europe also falls

In Europe, the number of IPOs fell to 22, down from 39 in the prior quarter and the most-recent peak of 200 in the fourth quarter of 2021.

There were $1.33 billion offered through European IPOs in the first quarter, down from $4.01 billion a year earlier and $30.47 billion in the first quarter of 2021.