The Top 10 Biggest IPOs Of All Time
Saudi Aramco
The largest IPO of all time occurred in 2019 when Saudi Aramco oil company was floated. The offering generated over $25 billion in investment, beating the previous record holder by almost $4 billion.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (TADAWUL:2222)’s public market cap is almost $2 trillion – as of March 2023 – making it the third most valuable company in the world after technology giants Apple and Microsoft.
Alibaba
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) is a Chinese technology company founded by Jack Ma in 1999 which has gone on to become one of the most valuable companies in the world, it made over $100 billion in revenue in 2022.
Its IPO generated almost $22 billion when it was floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, a record for an IPO at the time.
SoftBank
The SoftBank Group Corp (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) is a Japanese holding company which has interests in many different industries, including owning almost 24% of Alibaba.
The SoftBank Corporation is an affiliate business that is the third-largest wireless carrier in Japan, and it was this wing of SoftBank which had the third-largest IPO in history in 2018. The offering made $21.3 billion, just $500 million less than Alibaba four years earlier.
Recent IPO Success
Prometheus Biosciences
Prometheus Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:RXDX) has had the most successful IPO in recent years, the pharmaceutical company had an IPO in March 2021.
When it was initially floated the share price was $19 but has since risen to over $112 – meaning that investing $1,000 in the IPO would be worth $5,902 today.
Belite Bio
Another stock that’s risen over 400% since its IPO is Belite Bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLTE), which is also a pharmaceutical company.
This San Diego-based company was founded in 2016 and went public six years later in April 2022. If you had invested $1,000 in the Belite Bio IPO you’d now have $5,027 worth of stock.
Academy Sports and Outdoors
Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc (NASDAQ:ASO) is an American sporting goods company which had the third-highest increase in the stock price of any company that has gone public in recent years.
The share price rose by almost 350% since the company was floated in October 2020. This means that a return of $4,424 could have been made from a $1,000 investment in this IPO.
Further findings:
- Amazon was the second quickest company to go public.
- Coca Cola was the slowest company to go public. Funded in 1892, it only went public in 1919, after 27 years.
- Coca-Cola was one of just four companies in the 25 largest to take more than 20 years to become public, another was its big rival Pepsi.
