U.S. IPO market rebounds to $120B in 2026, but lacks dot-com excess
In brief
- Roughly 50 U.S. companies went public in H1 2026, double the 2025 pace.
- $120 billion in IPO deal value matched the full-year 2021 record, driven by AI demand.
- Crypto companies including Payward, Consensys, Ledger, and Grayscale delayed IPO plans.
- Goldman Sachs says elevated deal volume masks a market short of dot-com bubble speculation.
A Normal Recovery, Not Euphoria
Ben Snider characterized the current IPO market as a normal recovery driven by large companies accessing capital for AI development. The distinction matters. The U.S. averaged roughly 100 IPOs per year over the past quarter century, compared with more than 250 in 2021 and nearly 400 during the height of the dot-com boom in 1999. Today's pace sits closer to the historical norm.
"So although the dollar volume is quite elevated, although we're seeing an acceleration in activity, to me it still looks like we're a far cry from that level of euphoric sentiment that we saw in those episodes." — Ben Snider, Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist
Despite elevated dollar volume and strong activity acceleration, the current IPO market remains well short of the speculative excess seen during previous bubbles, Snider said. The difference is structural. Institutional investors have alternative destinations for growth capital.
Crypto Listings Hit a Wall
The crypto sector tells a different story. Circle and Bullish achieved successful IPOs earlier in 2026, creating initial expectations for a wave of digital-asset listings. That wave never materialized. Companies including Kraken parent Payward, Ethereum software developer Consensys, hardware wallet maker Ledger, and digital asset manager Grayscale delayed or paused IPO plans.
The reasons were concrete. Volatile crypto markets, weaker trading volumes, and lackluster post-listing performance from recent debuts cooled investor appetite. Capital constraints matter in this space. Crypto investors also worry that blockbuster AI-related IPOs are siphoning capital away from digital assets.
The Bigger Picture
The successful listing of SpaceX, along with expectations for additional high-profile AI and technology offerings, have given institutional investors alternative destinations for growth capital. That competition for investor dollars extends to crypto. The current IPO rebound reflects genuine economic demand (AI infrastructure, for instance), not irrational exuberance. It's a distinction Goldman Sachs views as fundamental to understanding today's market.
