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Nasdaq Maintains Position as Top Stock Exchange for IPOs

Nasdaq has closed the book on a remarkable 2024, maintaining its position as the leading U.S. exchange for initial public offerings (IPOs) for the sixth consecutive year while achieving its highest listings volume since 2021.

Across a number of metrics, Nasdaq showed considerable growth and stability this year. As of December 17, companies listing on the exchange raised approximately $22.7 billion in IPO proceeds across 171 listings, representing an 81%-win rate for eligible IPOs.

In 2024 Nasdaq welcomed 123 operating companies and 48 Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). Standouts included Lineage (the year’s largest IPO), Waystar (the largest health-tech IPO of the year), the recent IPO of ServiceTitan, and Palantir (the largest switch this year).

Jeff Thomas, Nasdaq’s Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer and Global Head of Listings attributed the significant volume of additions to the care Nasdaq dedicates to prospective clients, with a laser focus on helping them tell their story.

“We have built a phenomenal value proposition for our clients. It all starts with the wonderful trading platform that Nasdaq offers, but we’ve built this to be so much more,” said Thomas.

“When companies partner with us, they know and expect that their stocks are going to trade really well. But it’s all the other things that we do that really help them be successful in the public markets.

“We want to sit down with their Chief Marketing Officers to understand their key audiences, messages, and priorities and we work with them to create customized co-branded marketing to best enhance their message using all of our assets.”

One example of this is providing a marquee venue for listings across the global capital markets: MarketSite, which celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this year. MarketSite is a physical embodiment of the Nasdaq exchange, signaling its commitment to supporting the companies shaping the future, and helping to re-define the “New Wall Street”.  MarketSite is home to not only IPOs, but also major milestones for listed companies throughout their journeys such as milestone anniversaries. Among the most notable listing anniversaries in 2024 were Tractor Supply Company (30 years), Alphabet, Inc (20 years), Fortinet (15 years), Micron Technology, Inc. (15 years), Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (10 years), Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (5 years), and the first listing anniversary of Arm Holdings plc, among many others.

“One of the most fun experiences this year was when Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang came back to celebrate the 25th anniversary of inventing the GPU,” Thomas said.

“The fact that we’re able to get folks like Jensen to come and spend their time with us to celebrate these milestones is really a testament to the relationship that we’ve built with all of our listed companies.”

2024 Listings Highlights

An integral component of Nasdaq’s growth is listing switches, which continued apace in 2024. Since 2005, 509 companies have switched to Nasdaq.

In 2024 alone, 23 companies transferred their corporate listings to Nasdaq, bringing $180 billion in market capitalization. Prominent transfers included Palantir, the largest switch of the year on a U.S. and Campbell’s, which made history as the oldest company ever to transfer its listing.

“Campbell’s is a great example of how we help companies authentically tell their story,” Thomas explained. “When they transferred from the NYSE to Nasdaq, we hosted their analyst and investor day at Nasdaq MarketSite. We transformed it—into a kitchen, into a dorm room, into a pantry—so investors could see, feel, and touch all of the wonderful products that are part of the Campbell’s family today,” said Thomas.

Nasdaq also strengthened its regional presence in 2024, particularly in Texas, where Nasdaq is deeply ingrained in the economy and Nasdaq-listed operating companies account for $2.5 trillion in market capitalization across over 493 companies. The appointment of Rachel Racz as Senior Vice President and Head of Listings for Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America this fall reinforced Nasdaq’s commitment to the region.

“The goal of going back to a regional model is to increase our focus and intensity around each of the different regions,” Thomas said.

Private equity and venture-capital backed companies maintained a strong presence, accounting for 33% of Nasdaq listings, including impressive names such as Astera Labs and Brightspring. Nasdaq welcomed 87% of all eligible SPAC IPOs, raising $6.9 billion, and brought in 60 SPAC business combinations, achieving a 91% win rate. Lotus Technology’s listing stood out as the largest SPAC combination of the year.

Nasdaq also solidified its reputation as the natural home for healthcare, technology and biotech firms. A full 100% of eligible biotech companies listed on Nasdaq, including Tempus AI, CG Oncology and Ceribell, a medical device company.

“Potential clients want to be associated with the really innovative companies that list on Nasdaq,” Thomas said. “We’ve built an environment here that feels welcoming and exciting.”

“We have good visibility on the pipeline of deals that are coming,” Thomas said. “The macroeconomic environment is favorable for IPOs, and we’ve had great engagement with companies planning to list on Nasdaq in the first half of 2025.”