November’s IPO market struggled to take off amid a US government shutdown at the start of the month and a slump in tech stocks. Even still, eleven new listings managed to raise a combined $2.3 billion, below the month’s historical 10-year average (13 filings, $3.0B proceeds). Six IPOs raised $100 million or more, led by a $1 billion offering from early-stage electric aircraft maker BETA Technologies. The six sizable names delivered moderate gains, averaging a return of 21%, compared to a 9% average for all of the month’s IPOs. Shutdown-related uncertainty and AI valuation fears introduced intermittent volatility throughout the month; however, investor sentiment stabilized toward the end of November, helped by expectations of a December rate cut. The Renaissance IPO Index ended the month with a 6% loss, underperforming the S&P 500’s slightly positive return. New filing activity started to pick up as the SEC reopened, and four issuers filed to raise $100 million or more. Blank check issuance slowed down with the broader IPO market, while merger activity remained muted. Even with the SEC reopened, we don’t expect a huge finish to the year, though December can still produce several sizable deals, including a potential blockbuster IPO from Medline. And while this latest bout of AI skepticism threatens to dampen IPO activity in the short term, cycles of valuation discipline are healthy for longer-term returns. Meanwhile, the backlog of pre-IPO startups remains near record levels. Of course, if AI optimism does return to recent heights, we would see an even larger pickup in deal activity heading into 2026.
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