What are the best upcoming IPOs to watch?
It’s been a lacklustre year for IPOs, as economic uncertainty has led many companies to take a ‘wait and see’ approach. However, more activity could be on the cards this year. Discover some of the Australia, US, Asia and UK upcoming IPO contenders to watch.
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Start trading today. For account opening enquiries call 1800 601 799 between 9am and 6pm (AEDT) weekdays, or email newaccounts.au@ig.com.
Contact us: 1800 601 799
Upcoming Australian IPOs
Which companies are mulling a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange?
AirTrunk (estimated market cap $10 billion)
The Australian data centre company is exploring the possibility of an IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). It’s currently valued at AU$10 billion up from just AU$3 billion back in 2020 when the firm was brought by Macquarie Asset Management and PSP.
Since then, the company has grown, as has the need for the hyperscale data centres that the firm provides.
If AirTrunk does list, it could be the biggest IPO on the ASX since Mediabank back in 2014. That said, an IPO has yet to be confirmed, and although listing in Australia would be their first choice, the company have not ruled out a US IPO if market conditions in Australia don’t improve.
Find out how to trade Australian listings
Virgin Australia (estimated market cap: $2.2 billion)
For quite some time, Virgin Australia has been heavily rumoured to be preparing for an IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), in what would be its second market float. The company initially joined the ASX in 2003 as Virgin Blue Holdings, before being delisted on 17 November 2020 after filing for voluntary administration as a result of the pandemic.
A couple of months later, the firm was bought out of administration by the private equity firm Bain Capital, in a deal worth $572.7 million.
Once passenger numbers started rising, Virgin Australia began openly discussing a return to the ASX, which until recently was expected in the latter half of 2023. Due to unfavourable market conditions however, Bain has just announced plans to postpone a Virgin Australia IPO until 2024.
Find out how to get exposure to shares like Virgin Australia
Upcoming US IPOs
The American IPO space, particularly its tech shares, shows no sign of slowing down in 2023. Are these the best upcoming US IPOs?
Intel (estimated market cap: $151 billion)
American technology company Intel has announced plans to view the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) part of the business as a separate company and launch an IPO for it within the next two to three years.
PSG refers to the development of programmable chips (FGPAs), which have multiple use cases ranging from data centres to medicine, as the chips can be re-programmed to fit users’ needs.
Lattice Semiconductor, another maker of the FGPAs, has seen its shares rise 30% since the beginning of the year, which indicates an increased demand in the chip-making industry. This is further suggested by Intel’s earnings for the second quarter, which revealed that their data centre and AI group, which PSG is a part of, generated $4 billion profit alone.
With this increased demand, however, comes the need to create more new chips, particularly if Intel wants to keep up with competitors in Taiwan. This is guaranteed to be an expensive task and, if successful, the IPO could provide the necessary capital to help support this.
Shein (estimated market cap: $66 billion)
Fast fashion giant Shein has confidentially filed to launch in the US, and it could be as soon as this year.
Despite facing criticism for poor working conditions and its negative environmental impact, the Chinese online retailer has seen its sales surpass those of H&M and Zara in the US fast fashion market. They’ve even expanded the manufacturing of their products to Turkey, Brazil and India.
It’s not yet clear exactly how much the company is currently worth, but their most recent valuation reached $66 billion. More up to date details will be revealed closer to the launch.
Find out how to trade US listings
Databricks (estimated market cap: $43 billion)
Databricks is a software business that pioneered a cloud-based data storage platform using machine learning, among other things, to address the growing demand for keeping and organising companies’ online information.
Its AI and machine learning capabilities has gained the platform much attention over the past couple of years. Most recently from NVIDIA, who has contributed to the $5 million that Databricks has raised for a series 1 funding round, as it prepares to launch an IPO.
Although there’s no set date, the company is likely to go public within the next year. It is, however, remaining cautious and are waiting for economic conditions to improve before they launch.
Learn more about the Databricks IPO or find out how to trade US listings
Revolut (estimated market cap: $33 billion)
Revolut, the app-based bank headquartered in the UK with more than 15 million registered users, was founded in 2015 and has been a regulated electronic money institution since 2016.
Rumours of a Revolut IPO have been circulating since 2022 when the company first expressed interest in a public listing. Difficult market conditions caused by many factors including the Russo-Ukrainian War, high inflation, and high interest rates have forced to company to delay any plans of an IPO.
Given that its primary market is the UK, until recently a listing on the LSE seemed the most likely. Earlier this year, however, co-founders Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko announced that they’d now look to launch in New York because of their inability to attain a UK banking licence.
There’s currently no set date for an IPO but it’s likely to occur in the next year or so, when market conditions improve.
Learn more about the Revolut IPO or find out how to trade US listings
Chime (estimated market cap: $40 billion)
Even though it provides banking services, Chime is technically a fintech company, not a bank. The products it provides are offered through its banking partners. In its nine years of operations, it’s garnered millions of customers in middle- and lower-income Americans.
Initially, Chime aimed for a March 2022 IPO with a valuation of between $35 billion and $45 billion. But, before this date, it announced its intention to put a public offering on hold and instead focus on developing new services, such as lending and investing features.
Despite this, Chime still intends to go public one day and if the IPO market improves, it could be as early as 2024.
Learn more about the Chime IPO or find out how to trade US listings
Discord (estimated market cap: $15 billion)
San Francisco’s Discord describes itself as a ‘voice over internet protocol company’. More simply put, it’s an online platform that seeks to connect users with similar interests, as well as friends and family, into groups and communities.
Back in September 2021, the company was valued at $15 billion after raising $500 million in funding. This was more than double the firm’s previous valuation of $7.3 billion.
It’s thought that the company’s valuation will be higher still once it goes public.
As of yet, there’s no set date for Discord’s public listing and, with such a quiet IPO market it may be a few years down the line. That said, the much-anticipated listing is still likely to happen sometime soon provided market conditions improve.
Learn more about the Discord IPO or find out how to trade US listings
BMC Software (estimated market cap $15 billion)
Back in February, US technology company BMC Software reportedly filed for an IPO. Although there’s still no set date, experts believe it could take place in 2024 if the IPO market begins to heat up.
That said, Bloomberg also announced that an IPO is very dependent on the performance of recent launches. ARM, Instacart, Klavyio, and Birkenstock have all gone public after months of a very quiet IPO market. If these launches are unsuccessful and the market fails to recover, they may look to sell instead.
Amer Sports (estimated valuation: $10 billion)
Salamon ski boot and Wilson tennis racket maker, owned by Chinese firm Anta Sports Products, has confidentially filed for a US IPO which is likely to take place early next year.
It’s not yet clear what the share price will be or how many shares will be released. The company is said to be targeting an IPO of $1 billion, but in favourable market conditions, it could be as much as $3 billion
Klarna (estimated market cap $6.7 billion)
Swedish buy-now-pay-later start-up first announced their desire to launch in 2021. Back then they expected this to happen within a year, but the unstable economic conditions are likely to have caused the company to hold off.
Although market conditions remain difficult, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has stated that the company has now met all the conditions he deems necessary for an IPO. This included developing a sustainable business model with room for growth and becoming well-established in the US. It’s now just a case of waiting for market conditions to improve before Klarma list.
It’s currently reported to be completing the paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which may suggest a launch on the NYSE could be on the horizon.
Syngenta group (estimated market cap: $9 billion)
The Swiss agricultural chemicals firm that was brought out by Chinese company ChemChina back in 2017 has received approval to go public on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE).
When it happens, the launch is likely to be China’s biggest listing since 2010. Due to the size of the listing, western banks such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have expressed an interest in working on the IPO, but with geopolitical tension between China and the west, it’s uncertain if they’ll be allowed.
Monzo (estimated market cap: £4.5 billion)
Monzo is an online bank with more than six million customers, of which around 430,000 are on paid account tiers. The company is one of the leading UK innovators offering a non-traditional option to banking.
Alongside its upcoming IPO, Monzo is also focusing on US expansion plans, having already appointed CEO Carol Nelson for its US operations.
The company’s most recent valuation in December 2021, was estimated to be about $4.5 billion – this came after securing an additional $500 million in its latest funding round.
Although there has been little talk of an IPO in recent months, it’s reported the company is still exploring the idea and we could see it float in late 2024 or early 2025.
Learn more about the Monzo IPO or find out how to trade UK listings
BrewDog (estimated market cap: over £1.8 billion)
BrewDog started as a small operation in Scotland. The company’s crowdfunding route, which proved vital in its early years, secured them about 200,000 investors.
The company initially announced plans to launch almost three years ago, but for a number of reasons, which include market volatility and allegations surrounding the negative treatment of workers it held off.
BrewDog’s CEO Adam Watt however, has announced the company still intends to launch on either the London Stock Exchange (LSE) or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Although they’re waiting for the right time, we could see this happen before August this year. If not, the company will have to secure new funding to support its listing.
Learn more about the BrewDog IPO or find out how to trade UK listings
Starling (estimated market cap: £1.5 billion)
Starling is one of the UK’s leading digital-only banks. It was founded in 2014 by Anne Boden, a former banking executive. In June this year however, she announced she was stepping down as CEO and it’s rumoured the company is looking to find a replacement with previous experience in a public company as they keep their eyes set on an IPO in the coming months.
Last year the company achieved its first full year of profitability, reporting a pre-tax profit of just over £32 million. Although this sets them up well to launch, the company isn’t in desperate need of capital so it may be a good few months before the launch is announced.
It's not yet clear where Starling Bank will launch. As it’s a UK company, the default would be on the LSE but, with the current economic turmoil, a US IPO can’t be ruled out.
Find out how to trade UK listings
Zopa (estimated market cap: $1 billion)
Zopa has been credited with inventing the concept of peer-to-peer lending with its launch in 2004. It went on to grow a multi-billion-pound consumer lending business, before opting to exit the market in December 2021 to focus on its digital banking business.
The company has just made changes to its senior management team hiring Peter Donlon and Kate Erd, both of whom have many years of experience in finance, to help grow the company further as it prepares to launch an IPO.
Zopa, which is due to meet its targets of achieving its first full year of profitability by the end of the year, has managed to raise a total of £530 million, of which £150 million was raised this year.
Zopa had plans to go public last year but, due to the unfavourable economic conditions, decided to hold off until the market improves. If it does, CEO Jaidev Janardana has stated they may look to float as early as mid-next year.
Find out how to trade UK listings like Zopa
Biggest recent IPOs
Some of the biggest recent IPOs include:
Arm Holdings (market cap: $67.9 billion)
Arm Holdings designs microprocessors and related technology and software found in around 95% of smartphones. It has approximately 6000 employees globally and 2800 in the UK.
Back in 2020, Arm’s holding company SoftBank announced a deal for Nvidia to acquire Arm, leading to an estimated $40 billion valuation. In early 2022, however, the deal fell through, with Nvidia and Arm both citing regulatory challenges as the primary reason. Despite this, its recent listing could be more profitable than its sale to NVIDIA particularly considering the interest of big tech companies including NVIDIA, Amazon, and Apple who have collectively brought $735 million worth of ARM shares since the launch.
The shares launched on the NASDAQ on 14 September 2023 at $51 per share and rose a further 25%, reaching $63.59 by the end of the first trading day. This resulted in a valuation of $67.9 billion. Although the share price has since dropped, the IPO is set to be one of the biggest this year.
Learn more about the Arm Holdings IPO or find out how to trade US listings
Kenvue (market cap: $41 billion)
In an attempt to increase shareholder returns and avoid different parts of the business influencing the other, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) decided to split in two. JNJ now represents the pharmaceutical and med tech aspect of the company whilst their new spin-off brand Kenvue represents consumer health.
Kenvue launched on the NYSE on the 4 May this year at $22 per share. In August, JNJ shareholders were offered the chance to exchange them for Kenvue shares (8 Kenvue shares for 1 JNJ share). This offer was so oversubscribed that shareholders were offered Kenvue shares in proportion to the amount they owned.
Instacart (market cap: $10 billion)
Instacart is a grocery delivery service, founded in 2012, that had been considering a public listing for approximately two years before finally launching on the NASDAQ on 19 September 2023.
In March 2021, after raising $265 million in venture capital funds, the company’s market cap soared to $39 billion – meaning its valuation had more than doubled from its 2020 market cap of $17.7 billion. But early in 2022, the company proactively reduced its valuation to $24 billion and it has since dropped further, to $10 billion.
Upon launch, the company offered 22 million shares at a price of $30 each. On the first day of trading retail investors brought $12 million worth of shares and the price increased by just over 12% reaching $33.70 by the end of the day. Since then the share price has dropped due to difficult economic conditions.
Learn more about the Instacart IPO or find out how to trade US IPOs
Klaviyo (market cap: $9.2 billion)
Founded in 2012, Klaviyo is a marketing automation platform that enables users to store customer data, helping to build individual profiles and personalise emails, text messages and other communication methods directly to them. While this currently works by segmenting their audience, CEO Andrew Bialecki revealed the company’s ambition to target individual customers as the company develops.
On 20 September 2023, Klaviyo launched 19.2 million shares at $30 each on the NYSE, under the ticker KVYO. Its debut saw its price increase by just over 9% opening its first trading day at $36.75. The price did however drop throughout the day, closing at $32.75.
The company is the first US notable backed venture-backed company since 2021.
Birkenstock (estimated market cap: $9.2 billion)
The German shoe company is known for its popular cork-soled sandals, which have significantly grown in popularity since they were first introduced in the 1970s and coined as the ‘ugly shoe’. In fact, partnerships with luxury brands such as Valentino and Dior has helped the shoe to be viewed as a luxury product.
The company launched on the NYSE on 11 October 2023 with a share price of $46 each. By the end of the trading day, Birkenstock’s shares were priced at $40.20, a drop of 12.61%.
Learn more about Birkenstock IPO or find out how to trade US listings
How to get exposure to IPO shares
Grey market
We offer an exclusive range of grey markets through CFDs, based on a prediction of a company’s market cap at the end of its first trading day, that enables you to take a position on a company’s market cap before it lists on a stock exchange.1 You’ll ‘buy’ (go long) if you think the company’s market cap will be higher than the grey market price at the end of the first trading day, or ‘sell’ (go short) if you think it will be lower.
To start trading grey markets, open a trading account with us.
Secondary market: buying the shares after the IPO – investing or trading
Once the share has listed, the secondary market will open, which is where individual investors exchange the shares between themselves.
It usually takes a few hours for shares to be available after a US IPO, as is the case with all brokers. All other IPOs we offer should be available right away, from the time the exchange opens on the day of listing.
There are two ways for you to take a position on the secondary market following an initial public offering.
You can:
- Invest in the company’s shares by share trading
- Trade on the company’s share price with CFDs
Trading vs investing in IPO shares
When trading a company’s shares with us, you can take a position on the underlying market price with CFDs. You won’t take ownership of the shares, so you can take a position on both rising and falling prices.
You’ll only need a small deposit – known as margin – to get full market exposure. Trading on leverage can magnify your profits, but it can also magnify your losses, making it important to have a suitable risk management strategy in place. Remember, CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Learn how you can manage your risk
If you’d prefer to buy and hold or buy and sell instead of trading on price movements with derivatives, you can invest in IPO shares through our share trading platform. When investing in shares, you’ll do so via our share trading platform using our custodial model. This means that as a registered broker we manage, hold and safeguard securities you choose to buy and sell on your behalf. Via our custodial model, you’ll be able to buy and have a stake in actual assets and you will also be entitled to dividends if any are paid, and granted voting rights if applicable.
To open a share trading position, you’ll need to put down the full value of your investment and you can only make money if the share price goes up.
Get the latest IPO news
FAQs
How can you trade upcoming IPOs?
With us, you can trade upcoming IPOs before the listing – if a grey market is available. A grey market enables you to take a position on a company’s potential market cap before the IPO.
If we offer a grey market, the price of a grey market is a prediction of what the company’s total market capitalisation will be at the end of its first trading day. If you think that the company will be worth more than the price indicated, you can buy the market. If you think that the price is an overvaluation, you can sell.
How soon can you buy and sell IPO shares?
You can buy and sell IPO shares as soon as the company lists on the stock market. You can either take a position on share price movements by CFD trading, or you can buy shares outright by share trading.
What are the risks of trading or investing in an IPO?
There is risk in all trading and investment activity. IPOs have additional risks, which include:
- Having inadequate information about the company can mean that details that might affect the share price are missed, eg lack of research such as fundamental analysis and staying up to date with the latest news about the company
- Little to no trading history to assist in making informed decisions
- High market expectations that do not materialise
- Companies not meeting their target valuations
Useful documents like company prospectuses and admission documents can help you stay informed about information that might affect its share price and manage these risks.
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Sources and Footnotes
1 |
We do not offer grey markets on all IPOs. |
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