9. The big picture: macro, markets and news

IPOs (IPO)

IPO lists upcoming, priced and recent initial public offerings on the main US, Asia-Pacific and European venues, with size, price range and first-day performance.

  • 3 min
  • 3 questions
  • Lesson 5 of 6

Why you would care

Which companies are coming to market, and how did recent ones trade? IPOs are how private companies become stocks you can buy. A busy IPO calendar signals strong investor appetite; broken deals (trading below their offer price) signal caution. Big IPOs also move their sector: a hot listing can reprice its listed peers.

The idea from scratch

How an IPO works

  1. The company hires underwriters (investment banks) and files a registration statement (an S-1 in the US) with financial details.
  2. The bankers market the deal to investors (the roadshow) and set a price range.
  3. The night before trading, they set the offer price based on demand, and allocate shares.
  4. The stock starts trading on its exchange. The first-day return is the first close against the offer price.

Many US "IPOs" at exactly 10.00 dollars are SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies): empty shells that raise cash to buy a private company later. They usually trade near 10.00 until a deal is announced.

  1. File S-1
  2. Roadshow, price range
  3. Pricing: offer price
  4. First trade on the exchange
  5. First-day return vs offer

See it in Gloom

Gloom screenshot: IPO: upcoming and recent IPOs with ticker, company, date, status, offer size, price or range and return since the offer
IPO: upcoming and recent IPOs with ticker, company, date, status, offer size, price or range and return since the offer. Historical example.

open ittype IPO. Tabs: All, US, APAC, Europe; / searches; Enter opens a listed deal's ticker on its exchange.

  1. OURA Oura Inc. 2026-09-30 upcoming $2.1B $40.00-$44.00: a large upcoming deal and its price range.
  2. ACCV ... $660.0M $20.00-$24.00: money to be raised and the range.
  3. ETRA Electra Therapeutics trading $15.00 -21.2%: a recent IPO trading well below its offer price.
  4. Many ... Acquisition Corp $10.00: SPACs priced at 10 dollars, trading near it.
  5. ASBH American Savings Bank $16.00 +14.6%: a deal trading above its offer.
  6. Dates in the venue's own calendar, dimmed while only expected.

Practice and recap

Try it3 tasks
  1. Offer 15, first close 12. First-day return? (-20%.)
  2. Why do many recent IPOs show exactly 10.00 dollars? (They are SPACs, which list at 10.)
  3. What is the midpoint of Oura's range? (42 dollars.)
Common mistakes4 mistakes
  • Assuming IPOs always pop: many trade below their offer.
  • Treating a SPAC like an operating company.
  • Comparing the first-day return with the return an ordinary buyer can get: most first-day gains go to investors allocated at the offer.
  • Forgetting lock-up expiries: insiders often can sell months later, adding supply.
Check yourself3 questions
  1. What is an IPO?
  2. What is the first-day return?
  3. What is a SPAC?
Answers
  1. A company's first sale of shares to the public and start of trading on an exchange.
  2. The first day's closing price compared with the offer price.
  3. A shell company that raises cash in an IPO to buy a private company later.
Words in this lesson7 words
IPO
Initial public offering.
underwriter
The bank that organizes and sells an IPO.
price range / offer price
The expected range / the final price set before trading.
roadshow
Marketing an IPO to investors.
first-day return
First close vs offer price.
SPAC
A listed shell company that later buys a private business.
lock-up
A period after an IPO when insiders cannot sell.

Educational material about reading market data, not investment advice.