IPO pops are nearing 10-year highs, and tech is leading the way

In the lead-up to its public offering, tech unicorn Figma (FIG) priced its shares at $33. When the stock closed its first trading session on July 31, the share price had rocketed up to $115.50 — 250% above where the company priced the stock.

Just two months earlier, stablecoin infrastructure operator Circle Internet Group (CRCL) priced its IPO at $31 and then closed its first day, June 5, at $83.23, marking a more than 165% increase.

These IPO “pops” are getting bigger, and tech is leading the way

Through the first half of 2025, IPOs notched an average first-day performance of 27.5%, according to IPO advisory firm Rainmaker Securities, just below the annual first-half high-water mark of the past decade of 29.2% in 2021 and nearly double the 15% jump seen during the first half of last year. The 20 largest offerings of 2025 out of the 241 US IPOs so far this year have seen even larger gains, with first-day pops averaging 36%, according to Reuters.

The market-dominating tech sector, according to data from the NYSE, has seen the largest average first-day hike over the past year on the New York Stock Exchange, at 36.3%. The sector has also recorded the second-highest concentration of share prices opening above their expected range throughout the past 12 months, at 41%, behind only consumer goods. Compare that to more staid sectors like materials and consumer services, which have seen the majority of their IPOs in the last year open within their expected price range, according to NYSE data.

Just this week, stablecoin issuer Figure Technologies (FIGR) debuted with a delta of 44% between its IPO price and opening mark, but it gave up some of those gains before the end of its first trading session on Thursday.

Tech offerings on the NYSE have also raised the most money of any sector, at more than $13.5 billion on the year, according to data from the exchange.

Rainmaker Securities managing partner Greg Martin told Yahoo Finance that the tech sector’s dominance in IPO pops is partly for fundamental reasons — it’s simply harder to put a price tag on companies growing quickly in new markets.

“Because it’s so much predicated on what [tech companies are] going to do in the future … it’s just a much harder exercise,” Martin said. “It’s much easier to value a company that’s been growing at 10%, 15% for the last 20 years and will continue growing like that.”

Rapid adoption and a potentially huge future market have also seen crypto-related fintech new issues this year land at the center of investor frenzies. Following on Circle’s success, fintech crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH) priced in August at $37 and closed its first session at $68, a jump of more than 80%.