Written by Lauren Hirsch and Michael J. de la Merced
On any normal week, the trading debuts of Krispy Kreme or Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing giant, would be the biggest news in initial public offerings. But they were just two of 18 IPOs that hit the markets this week, making it the busiest since December 2004.
The debuts are the latest example of companies racing to the public market to take advantage of sky-high valuations as investor exuberance pushes the stock market to new heights. And it’s a sign that, as regulatory scrutiny has slowed down the process of going public by selling to the shell companies known as special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, companies are eagerly embracing the traditional route.
Overall, 213 IPOs raised $70 billion in the first half of the year, which is above the full-year average for the past 10 years, according to Renaissance Capital. June was the busiest month for listings since August 2000.
“In addition to rising returns and a massive backlog of unicorns and others, companies are getting out ahead of the July 4 holiday,” said Matt Kennedy, a senior IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital, which manages IPO-focused exchange traded funds.
Those who performed best were generally those that promised the same kind of growth propelling stocks like Uber Technologies, which has seen its shares rise 66% over the past year and Zoom Video Communications, which has see its stock grow 48%.