With equities in a steep decline and fears of a recession mounting, the number of companies that launched initial public offerings in the third quarter of 2022 plummeted from a year earlier.
The number of IPOs throughout the world fell by more than 45% in the period from the same quarter in 2021. The total amount offered in those IPOs that did move ahead plunged by nearly $73 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
There were 393 IPOs launched worldwide in the third quarter, down from 403 in the second quarter and the lowest quarterly amount since the second quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in its relatively early stages. There have been a total of 1,254 IPOs in the first nine months of the year, a far cry from the 2,343 IPOs launched in the first three quarters of 2021.
IPOs totaled $45.6 billion in the third quarter of 2022, down from $118.24 billion in the same quarter of 2021. Through the first three quarters of this year, IPOs have totaled $144.2 billion, down from $476.34 billion in the first three quarters of 2021.
US slump
There were 29 IPOs in the U.S. during the quarter, totaling $2.72 billion. Volume actually increased sequentially by one offering but was down sharply on a year-over-year basis.
Through the first three quarters of this year, there have been 126 U.S. IPOs totaling $17.65 billion, compared to 673 IPOs with a cumulative size of $217.22 billion in the first three quarters of 2021.
Largest US offerings
The largest U.S. IPO so far this year closed in September when life and health insurer Corebridge Financial Inc. spun off from American International Group Inc. and went public for $1.68 billion. Asset managers TPG Inc. and PIMCO Access Income Fund were the second- and third-largest IPOs, respectively.
European activity also slows
European IPO activity saw declines similar to the U.S., with 39 IPOs launched in the third quarter, down from 122 a year earlier.
There have been 178 IPOs totaling $16.17 billion through the first nine months of 2022, down from 438 IPOs totaling $87.47 billion in the first three quarters of 2021.