IPOs Hit Two-Decade High in 2020

The number of IPOs filed in the U.S. last year increased 108.7 percent year over year to 407 from 195 in 2019, according to data from Trading Platforms and reported by Retail Dive. IPOs in 2020 were the highest they had been in two decades, from a high of 429 in 2000, the data found.

Casper (New York) kicked off the year when it made its IPO in February. Activity slowed when the pandemic took hold in mid-March. Still, seven retailers filed IPOs in the first nine months of 2020.

Momentum picked up in the second half of the year as retailers were reopening brick-and-mortar stores. In 2020, it was also popular for retailers to seek alternative forms of going public, namely through special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). The number of SPAC-led deals reached 248 in 2020, up from 59 the year before. IPO fundraising through SPAC deals exceeded $83 billion last year, an increase from $3.9 billion in 2015 and $503 million in 2010.