Would be interesting to compile how all of the largest IPO's in recent history have trended since launch, since the controversy is that insiders get in early while retail gets to fight over the scraps
Here's what AI had to say with a quick search:
The largest IPOs in history frequently struggle to outperform the broader market five years post-launch. While highly anticipated, these record-breaking listings tend to suffer from high valuation expectations and subsequent post-IPO slumps, though there are notable exceptions. [
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Historical Mega-IPOs After 5 Years
A look at the long-term returns of the largest capital raises globally shows a mixed but generally underwhelming track record: [
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- Visa (2008): Raised $17.4 billion. It is a notable outlier, vastly outperforming and crushing market indices over its long public life.
- Alibaba (2014): Raised $21.8 billion. While it posted decent returns overall five years out (roughly 88% up), the stock has since lost well over half its peak value.
- Saudi Aramco (2019): Raised $25.6 billion. Down roughly 21% after five years of public trading, trailing behind the broader market.
- NTT DoCoMo (1998): Raised $18.1 billion. Down over 50% five years later before eventually being taken private.
- Enel (1999): Raised $16.4 billion. Barely broke even, returning around 5% over its first five years as a public entity. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Recent Startup Heavyweights (The 2021 Class)
The tech and EV-heavy class of 2021—which saw the highest aggregate proceeds since the dot-com bubble—has notoriously trended downward. Five years later, many are trading significantly below their first-day prices: [
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- Rivian (RIVN): Carried out the largest traditional IPO of the AI/EV generation ($11.9 billion), briefly boasting a market cap larger than legacy automakers. Years later, it has shed tens of billions in market cap amid intense production scaling and industry competition.
- Coinbase: Shed massive market value since its direct listing and sits significantly below its initial highs. [1, 2, 3]
Explore how public markets measure up using the Renaissance IPO Index to track performance. [
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Blockbuster IPOs launched since 2020 have generally followed a trend of explosive first-day "pops" followed by steep, multi-year declines as public market valuations adjusted. Most of the largest listings (like those in 2020 and 2021) are currently trading well below their initial all-time highs. [
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The trends of specific post-2020 record-setting public debuts highlight this trajectory:
- Snowflake (SNOW - 2020): Raised $3.36 billion in the largest software IPO of all time, with shares initially jumping over 100% on day one. While it traded significantly higher for years, recent growth deceleration left shares hovering around 30% to 60% below their peak pandemic highs. [1, 2, 3]
- Airbnb (ABNB - 2020): Reeled in $3.5 billion in a blockbuster debut that saw shares surge 112% on day one. The stock trended positively during the post-pandemic travel resurgence but eventually cooled under sustained shareholder pressure. [1]
- Rivian (RIVN - 2021): Raised approximately $12 billion in the largest EV IPO of the year, popping nearly 30%. The stock has since been categorized by financial analysts as a "busted IPO," as scaling challenges and cash burn dragged its market cap down to a fraction of its early peak. [1, 2]
- Lineage (LINE - 2024): The massive $4.4 billion cold-storage REIT debut initially traded above its $78 offering price. However, shifting post-pandemic demand for cold-storage services and macroeconomic headwinds quickly led to a downward trend, erasing nearly half of its launch value. [1, 2]
Historical Market Context
According to analysis of long-term IPO data tracked by Professor Jay Ritter, large venture-backed companies can occasionally beat broader market benchmarks in the long run. However, the average IPO launched since 2020 has underperformed compared to historical market averages. Because many of these companies stayed private longer to raise massive amounts of private capital, there was historically less room for post-IPO capital appreciation for public shareholders. [
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You can track historical and current performance metrics for these offerings using financial tools like Yahoo Finance or Stock Analysis.