By the MFI Editorial Team | Last verified: June 2026
Why 2026 IPO Activity Is Picking Up
The 2021 IPO boom was followed by a significant slowdown in 2022 and 2023 as rising interest rates compressed growth stock valuations and made the gap between private company valuations and public market willingness to pay too wide to bridge. Companies that raised capital at high valuations in 2021 found that going public at a lower valuation — a “down round” in public form — was damaging to employee morale, existing investor sentiment, and founder reputation.
By 2025 and into 2026, several dynamics have changed. The rate environment has shifted. Many late-stage private companies have had time to grow into their 2021 valuations. And the IPO market window has reopened enough that investment banks are actively running pre-IPO processes again. The result is a backlog of companies that have been waiting for the right conditions.
How to Find Pre-IPO Information
Before a company files its S-1, information is limited to what appears in media coverage, private market data services, and SEC filings for prior private funding rounds. After the S-1 is filed, it is publicly available on SEC EDGAR at no cost.
Useful sources for tracking the IPO pipeline:
- SEC EDGAR (sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar): Search for S-1 and S-1/A filings. This is the primary source — everything else is derived from it.
- Renaissance Capital (renaissancecapital.com): IPO calendar and analysis, partially free with more detail behind a paywall.
- IPO Monitor and similar trackers: Compile upcoming IPO dates and pricing ranges from S-1 filings.
- The company's investor relations page: Once an S-1 is filed, companies often maintain an investor relations section with the full prospectus and roadshow materials.
The Pre-IPO Evaluation Checklist
For any company approaching its IPO that you are considering investing in, work through this checklist before the listing date:
Revenue growth rate and trajectory. Is revenue growing faster or slower than it was two years ago? Deceleration heading into an IPO is a yellow flag.
Gross margin and path to profitability. A company with 75% gross margins that is burning cash has a credible path to profitability at scale. A company with 30% gross margins burning cash requires a very different thesis about scale economics.
Comparable company valuation. Look at public companies in the same sector with similar growth rates and margins. What multiple are they trading at? The IPO will likely price at a premium to that comp set — the question is how much premium is justified.
Use of proceeds. What is the company actually doing with the money? Growth capital versus insider liquidity are very different answers with very different implications for the company's trajectory post-IPO.
Lock-up expiration date. Find it in the S-1. Mark your calendar. This is when insiders who paid much less than you can start selling. Many stocks see selling pressure at this date regardless of fundamentals.
The Retail Investor's Timing Disadvantage
Institutional investors who participate in the IPO roadshow can receive allocations at the IPO price. Retail investors typically cannot access IPO shares at the offering price through standard brokerage accounts — they buy at the market open on the first trading day, which is often at a significant premium to the offering price after institutional demand has pushed the stock up.
This timing disadvantage means retail investors who buy on IPO day are frequently paying the highest price of the day. The data on first-day IPO trading is consistent: most of the institutional gain on IPO day happens in the first minutes of trading, before most retail investors have placed their orders.
The practical implication: for most retail investors, waiting 90–180 days after an IPO — past the initial volatility and past the lock-up expiration — provides a more rational entry point with better information about how the business performs as a public company.
Last verified: June 2026 | Category: IPOs & Hidden Gems | Investor Guides