IPOs

The IPO wave has arrived, dominated by SpaceX’s massive listing. Aftermarket performance has been weak, and elevated issuance is weighing on S&P 500 multiples, although some pressure is already priced. SpaceX remains only partly digested, while Anthropic and OpenAI will bring further supply and greater business model scrutiny.

We remain constructive on US equities, but higher yields, slower EPS growth and heavy IPO issuance remain significant risks to valuations, leaving the path to our year-end target increasingly dependent on earnings. Tactically, there has already been a significant, but benign, compression in multiples, as earnings have outpaced prices. A well-communicated Fed hike could ease rather than intensify bond-market uncertainty. 

Based on 40 years of history and some 12,000 IPOs, the evidence suggests that the coming IPO wave may dampen forward market returns, mute further multiple expansion, and possibly interrupt sector trends. That said, even monster-sized IPOs are unlikely to trigger a sustained bear market: only about 20% of mega-IPOs coincide with market peaks. The bigger risk is AI leadership rotation as new listings dilute scarcity premia in existing winners.