Companies in the United States that had hoped to become publicly traded have been forced to postpone their plans in part due to the worsening economic climate. This has translated to the U.S. recording one of the biggest historical slumps with initial public offerings (IPO).

In particular, according to data acquired and calculated by Finbold on February 16, the U.S. recorded 181 IPOs in 2022, representing a slump of a whopping 82% from 2021’s 1,035. Notably, the number of IPOs in 2021 represents a surge of about 115% from 2020’s 480. Between 2002 and 2005, the lowest number of IPOs was registered in 2008, at 62, amid the financial crisis.

A breakdown of the 2022 IPO quarterly distribution indicates that the number of companies going public steadily declined as the economy’s fortunes continued to dim. For Q1 2022, there were 80 IPOs, dropping to 18 in the last three months of the year.

During the second quarter, there were 45 IPOs, which plunged to 38 IPOs in the third quarter.

Macro environment hits IPO sector

The research identified how the negative economic performance influenced companies to slow down their intentions to go public. According to the research report:

“From the data, last year proved to be a challenging time for the U.S. IPO market, with the economic uncertainty characterized by rising interest rates and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy leaving the markets in a volatile state. With sentiments essentially pointing to a possible recession, companies aiming to go public were kept at bay with the flaring geopolitical tensions and spillover effects from the pandemic.”

As a result of the dip in performance that occurred in 2022, market uncertainty continues to persist, and the majority of enterprises are having trouble navigating the turbulent macro environment.