If you follow the public markets, this week is one you’ll want to pay attention to. Three first-time IPOs are set to debut… two of them among the most anticipated industrial listings of the decade. Defense is front and center, with Arxis, Inc. and Aevex Corp. both going public amid a record surge in global defense spending. 

And Madison Air Solutions, which quietly built a $3.3 billion indoor air quality empire, is attempting what analysts are calling one of the largest U.S. industrial-sector IPOs since United Parcel Service's $5.47 billion debut in November 1999; UPS being classified as a transportation and logistics company, not an industrial manufacturer, which underscores just how rare an industrial offering of this scale truly is.

Here’s what’s on deck for the week of April 13–17, 2026:

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Arxis is one of those companies that flies under the radar until it doesn’t. Built by Arcline Investment Management through more than 30 acquisitions since 2019, Arxis is now a platform-scale manufacturer of mission-critical electronic and mechanical components used across aerospace, defense, medical technology, and semiconductor testing. Think flight control bearings, engine fire seals, radar-absorbing materials, RF/microwave components, and high-precision interconnects… the kinds of parts that don’t fail.

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The company’s breadth is staggering: 72 manufacturing facilities, 47 customer-facing brands, over 5,000 customers, 600+ platforms served, and 90% of revenue derived from proprietary products. That last number matters. It signals genuine pricing power and barriers to entry that most industrial companies can only dream about.

Arxis’s 2025 financials are the headline: $1.59 billion in revenue (up 114% year-over-year, partly driven by acquisitions) and a swing to $46 million in net income after a $55.5 million loss in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA clocked in at $571 million, implying margins of approximately 36%. At the midpoint of the IPO range ($26.50/share), the company is valued at approximately $10.6 billion, implying a roughly 18.6x EV/Adj. EBITDA multiple. Yes, a healthy premium to peers, but arguably justified given the proprietary product portfolio and platform scale.

The bull case rests on three pillars: (1) deeply embedded positions in defense and aerospace supply chains that are difficult to displace; (2) a proprietary product mix that supports pricing power through inflationary cycles; and (3) favorable secular tailwinds as global defense budgets hit record highs. The bear case centers on the company’s leveraged balance sheet; it plans to use approximately $746 million of IPO proceeds to repay debt, suggesting meaningful pre-IPO leverage. Integration risk across 30+ acquisitions is also a factor worth monitoring.

S-1/A Filing (April 8, 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2093536/000119312526146309/d81728ds1a.htm

Madison Air Solutions is the week’s showstopper… and by most measures, the most significant U.S. industrial IPO in more than a quarter-century. The Chicago-based company, founded in 2017, has assembled one of the most recognizable portfolios of air quality brands in America: AprilAire, Big Ass Fans, Nortek Air Solutions, Nortek Data Center Cooling, and Reznor, among others.

The company serves an estimated $40 billion addressable North American market for mission-critical indoor air quality systems, distinct from the traditional HVAC market, and currently holds roughly 8% market share. Its commercial segment (66% of revenue) spans data centers, semiconductor fabs, cleanrooms, healthcare, and life sciences. Its residential segment (34%) focuses on healthy air systems for single and multi-family homes.

About half of 2025 net sales came from replacement and upgrade demand, and roughly 10% from aftermarket parts and services. That recurring revenue base provides meaningful stability across economic cycles. A feature institutional investors tend to pay a premium for.

Madison Air generated $3.34 billion in revenue in 2025, up 27% year-over-year. Net income was $124.3 million; down from $236 million in 2024 (a decline of approximately 47%), reflecting higher interest expense and transaction costs tied to recent acquisitions. The IPO is sized at 82.7 million shares at $25–$27 per share, implying a market cap of approximately $12.7 billion at midpoint and total proceeds of approximately $2.15 billion… essentially all of which will be used to pay down the company’s substantial $5.6 billion debt load.

The bull case: Madison Air has a differentiated portfolio of mission-critical brands, meaningful market share in a large and growing market, and a data center cooling angle (Nortek Data Center Cooling) that plays directly into one of the most durable investment themes of our era. The bear case: this is a highly leveraged IPO where proceeds primarily reduce debt rather than fund growth. Effectively a refinancing event in IPO clothing. Net income declined sharply in 2025, and the dual-class share structure (Class B shares carry 10 votes each) concentrates voting power with the founding entity.

S-1 Filing (March 9, 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2098430/000119312526098829/ck0002098430-20260309.htm

Aevex Corp. is the week’s most compelling defense-tech story — and its most complicated investment case. The Solana Beach, California-based company designs and manufactures autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and delivers airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Special Operations Forces, the intelligence community, and allied international partners.

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With over 10,200 systems delivered and committed through the end of 2026, an $8.1 billion identified pipeline (up 98% year-over-year), and a funded backlog of $503 million (up 181% YoY), Aevex is clearly riding one of the most powerful secular trends in defense: the shift to unmanned, AI-driven warfighting systems. Its proprietary CompassX sensor-fusion engine, which enables assured navigation in GPS-denied environments, is a genuine technological differentiator in an era where adversaries are increasingly targeting GPS infrastructure.

Aevex reported $432.9 million in revenue for 2025, up 10% year-over-year, alongside a net loss of $16.8 million; a significant improvement from the $78.6 million loss in 2024. The IPO prices 16 million shares at $18–$21, implying a market cap of approximately $2.35 billion at the $19.50 midpoint. Private equity backer Madison Dearborn Partners will retain 79.1% of combined voting power post-IPO. U.S. government work represented approximately 78% of 2025 revenue.

The bull case: Aevex has a credible technology moat in GPS-denied environments, a rapidly growing backlog, and a tailwind that is geopolitically self-reinforcing. The bear case: the company is not yet profitable, faces intense competition from significantly larger players (General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, Shield AI), and the PE sponsor will retain near-total voting control post-IPO. A material weakness in internal controls disclosed in the S-1 is worth noting for institutional investors.

S-1 Filing (March 23, 2026): https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=2096300&type=S-1&dateb=&owner=include&count=10

Good luck this week,

Tim