Despite the fact that the number of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for startups have continued to stay low, I still hear it touted often as the preferred exit strategy. I suspect the exuberance for an IPO is still being driven by the highly visible successes of a few companies several years ago, including Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter. Everyone dreams of becoming a billionaire overnight.
According to TheStreet, US IPO market results in Q2 2020 posted a strong bounce-back from Q1 with 58 IPOs, after a slow start due to the Covid19 pandemic. The numbers represent a 45% increase from the previous quarter’s tally, but a 14% drop from the same quarter in 2019. They are still nowhere near the rate required to match the yearly total of 486 hit way back in 1999.