The IPO market has been red hot in 2025, thanks to CoreWeave and Circle
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On Wednesday, digital design platform Figma filed for its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Thanks to a lofty $12.5 billion valuation and a wide range of clients across various sectors, the news sent ripples through Wall Street.
Figma is the latest in a run of exciting tech IPOs investors have enjoyed in recent months. The Nasdaq has welcomed 142 IPOs in the first six months of the year, the most since 2021. Tracking and trading newbie stocks is tricky affair because there isn’t a technical backdrop to work off of; they are pure speculation plays based mostly off hype. But this six-month run has created enough of a sample size to draw some observations that can hopefully steer investors forward for the next batch of debuts lined up in 2025.
Excluding Special Purchase and Company (SPAC) volumes, traditional IPOs on the Nasdaq raised roughly $9 billion from 79 deals, while 15 IPOs on the NYSE raised about $7.8 billion. Last year during the same period, Nasdaq IPOs had raised about $6.1 billion, while shares worth $11.5 billion were sold from IPOs on the NYSE, according to data from Dealogic.
Powering the Nasdaq has been artificial intelligence (AI) maven CoreWeave Inc (NASDAQ:CRWV), the biggest IPO of the year so far. Armed with a $23 billion valuation, the company opened at $39 on March 28, and closed at $40. After a month of sideways trading – around the same time tariff anxieties were at a zenith – the stock exploded. Now, CRWV trades at $154.53 and hit a peak of $187 on June 20. The demand for AI data centers will only increase, and CoreWeave’s deals with Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) indicate this is a heavyweight in training. Yet at the same time, 14 of the 20 brokerages covering CRWV maintain “hold” or “strong sell” ratings, and a healthy 6.2% of the stock’s total available float is sold short. Even a middling 14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI) lends to the narrative that this wasn’t some flash in the pan, and there’s still room to run. Last week’s 12% pullback could be the last intriguing entry point for a while.
Stablecoin issuer – think cryptocurrency, but more tied to the dollar -- Circle Internet Group Inc (NYSE:CRCL) debuted at $69 on June 5, raced as high as $103.73 that day, now trades at $186.49, and hit an absurd June 23 peak of $298.99. CRCL doesn’t have much contrarian potential and is off its recent highs but is still a massive success story for venture capitalists and crypto bulls. Tailwinds from the newly-passed GENIUS Act -- which would establish a federal framework for U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins – are only just starting to blow.
Digital assets firm Galaxy Digital Inc (NASDAQ:GLXY) moved from the Toronto Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq on May 16. GLXY boasts a 26.6% lead since then. With short interest down 22% in the most recent reporting period yet 5.5% of GLXY’s total available float still sold short, there’s potential for a next leg higher, enough so that the stock is one of our Top Picks for the Rest of 2025.
There have been some pump fakes from IPOs. Marketing firm MNTN Inc (NYSE:MNTN) was priced at $16 on May 22, closed at $25, and now sits at $21.21. Investment platform and Robinhood (HOOD) competitor eToro Group Ltd (NASDAQ:ETOR) made its debut at $21 on May 14, opening at $69.69, traded as high as $74.28, and closed at $67. Now, ETOR trades at $62.30. Buy now, pay later fintech Chime Financial Inc (NASDAQ:CHYM) opened at $42, well above its listed price at $27. While all three stocks are off their recent highs, their hearty valuations and a pathway to a sizable market share make them intriguing stories to watch for the rest of the year.
There are potential IPOs in the works that could have a CoreWeave-like impact, though a full picture is scant. Fintech Klarna postponed its IPO in March amid market volatility and tariff concerns. But after a historical V-shaped Q2 rally reset investor expectations and sector peer Chime’s (CHYM) IPO in June, there are rumblings that the Swedish-based ‘buy now, pay later’ is ready to roll. While it won’t be the $45.6 billion valuation initially projected in 2022, a recent revenue surge in March has the valuation back up around $15 billion.
The aforementioned stablecoin resurgence means Gemini -- a crypto exchange run by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss – in Wall Street’s crosshairs, though specifics have not yet been decided upon. In the e-commerce world, after three years of buzz, a late-March filing showed StubHub was reportedly eyeing a valuation of $16.5 billion, but Liberation Day put a wrench in the plan. The debut has cleared regulatory hurdles but remains in limbo.
Payment processing company Stripe has an estimated valuation of $91.5 billion as of February, up from $70 billion in August. But there has been no leak about an IPO date, and there’s rumors that co-founders Patrick and John Collison will keep Stripe private for some time. For now, Stripe is a sleeping giant, but one to monitor closely.
Medline Industries, the largest privately held U.S. medical supply manufacturer, has an estimated valuation of $50 billion. This is a blockbuster IPO waiting to happen, one that would eclipse the differing results from the Omada Health (OMDA) and Hinge Health (HNGE) debuts earlier this year. A successful debut more in line with HNGE could set off a chain reaction of med-tech public offerings into 2026.
It’s clear from the table above that there’s no clear trend to 2025’s major IPO debuts, beyond maybe the broader takeaway that the U.S. economy is frothy enough to support all these high-profile valuations and debuts. Despite everything going on, the world of IPOs keeps churning out exciting names. The data shows that results may vary; you could go gangbusters, you could stall out, or anything in between. But given all nine of the names are above their listed IPO price, that’s at least an additive starting point investors can get behind when names like Klarna Stripe unveil their listing price. Keep your ear to the newswires, set alerts for the names, because if markets continue to stabilize, the temperature could be just right to dip your toe in.