Aniket PujariIt has been a blockbuster year for India’s primary market as 93 initial public offerings (IPOs) have hit Dalal Street till November so far, and three more are set to kick off today. With the launch of these IPOs, the annual IPO haul will surge past ₹1.6 trillion — surpassing the previous year’s record to hit the highest ever.
Last year, the funds raised via 91 IPOs stood at ₹1,59,783.76 crore. Now, the ₹5,421 crore Meesho IPO, along with Aequs IPO (worth ₹921 crore) and Vidya Wires IPO (worth ₹300 crore), will push the IPO fundraising to ₹160,698.36 lakh crore for the year so far.
“The scale of fundraising shows the IPO market is maturing beyond cyclicality. What’s powering this surge is the emergence of high-quality, sharply differentiated businesses,” said Bhavesh Shah, Managing Director & Head – Investment Banking, Equirus Capital.
In December alone, some ₹30,000-40,000 crore worth of IPOs are lined up, including several marquee names like ICICI Prudential AMC, Fractal Analytics and Wakefit.
Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said with a strong IPO pipeline, the amount mobilised this year can touch a whopping ₹1.85 lakh crore. Companies raising capital through the IPO market is good from the macro perspective since it brings down the cost of equity capital and encourages risk-taking and investment, he added.
IPO market trend to continue
This uptrend in the IPO market is likely to remain robust, as an analysis by Equirus suggests that $20 billion of share sales is likely in the year 2026. What could be the highlight is the IPO by Reliance Jio.
However, Dr Vijayakumar cautioned that amid weakening listing gains, investors might turn a bit cautious about applying for IPOs going ahead.
The average listing gains have declined sharply from the high levels of around 30% in 2023 and 2024 to around 9% in 2025. Many IPOs have also slipped below their issue prices, prompting caution from retail investors who often apply for listing pops.
If the IPO market is to remain healthy, the issue price has to be reasonable, and the trend of OFS at unjustified valuations has to change, added the veteran market analyst.
Ratiraj Tibrewal, CEO of Choice Capital, expects the market to remain selective, as investors are adopting a wait-and-watch approach ahead of marquee offerings such as boAt, ICICI Prudential and Milky Mist.
In a contrasting trend, this year’s IPO boom has come at the cost of the secondary market gains. Generally, the IPO market booms when the secondary market booms. But this year, despite the tepid performance of the secondary market, the IPO market has been booming.
“The secondary market has been weighed down by three factors: one, the poor earnings growth; two, the sustained FII selling; and three, the booming IPO market sucking in lots of funds. So, yes, the booming IPO market has been weighing on the secondary market,” said Vijayakumar.
However, it does not pose a structural risk, opined Shah. The scale mismatch makes it unlikely for IPOs to alter the market’s long-term direction. “Even record IPO fundraising of less than USD 20 billion is a drop in the ocean compared to India’s over USD 5 trillion market capitalisation. At best, they create short-term liquidity shifts, not structural risks,” he added.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations expressed are those of individual analysts or broking firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.
