Let’s talk about the comeback of large-cap IPOs. You know, those big-ticket initial public offerings from companies already valued in the billions that decide to go public.
Over the past 12 months, from around August 2024 right up to now in 2025, the market’s seen a real surge in these debuts, and a lot of them have turned out to be solid performers.
It’s not all smooth sailing, with some economic ups and downs, but the successes stand out, especially in tech, fintech, (Financial + Tech) and infrastructure. Here’s a walkthrough of what’s been observed, focusing on the wins and why they matter for investors like you.
First off, the overall IPO landscape has warmed up considerably. After a couple of quieter years, 2024 saw about 225 IPOs in the U.S. alone, raising over $41 billion, which was a big jump from the $24 billion in 2023.
Being 8 months into 2025, we’re already at 204 listings as of early August, with proceeds climbing even higher—total U.S. IPOs had pulled in $25.36 billion by mid-June.
What’s exciting is how many of these are large-cap plays, meaning companies hitting the market with market caps north of$10 billion. These aren’t speculative startups; they’re established outfits with proven revenue streams, often in high-growth sectors like AI, e-commerce, and digital finance.
The average returns have been impressive too, with venture-backed IPOs averaging a 450% surge post-debut in the first half of 2025, far outpacing private equity-backed ones.
Take Reddit, for example—the social media giant that went public in March 2024 under the ticker RDDT. They priced at$34 a share, valuing the company at about $6.4 billion initially.
But shares shot up 48% on day one and have kept climbing. As of this writing, it’s trading around $210, that’s a massive gain.
What stands out about Reddit is how they’ve turned their massive user base—now over 97 million daily actives, into real profits, posting their first quarterly profit post-IPO with $29.9 million in net income and revenue up 68% to $348 million.
Sure, there were some hiccups with search algorithm changes affecting user growth, but analysts from Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are still bullish, slapping buy ratings and high price targets on it. It’s a classic case of a company leveraging AI tools and advertising to thrive in a competitive space.
Then there’s Astera Labs (ALAB), another standout from March 2024. This AI-focused semiconductor firm debuted and surged 72% right out of the gate, closing at $62 on day one.
Their revenue exploded 206% year-over-year in Q3 2024, thanks to big clients like Nvidia, Amazon, and Google snapping up their connectivity solutions for data centers. With the AI boom showing no signs of slowing, Astera’s positioned as a key player, and its stock has held strong gains. It’s companies like these two that remind us why large-cap IPOs can be such reliable bets; they’ve got the tech edge and the partnerships to back it up.
Shifting to something a bit different, Lineage Inc. (LINE) made waves as the biggest IPO of 2024, raising $4.44 billion in July when they priced at $78 a share. As the world’s largest operator of temperature-controlled warehouses, they’re essential for global supply chains, especially in food and pharma.
The debut was solid, and while there’ve been some market jitters leading to a dip, tied to broader customer trends, the company’s fundamentals are rock-solid, with a massive network that screams long-term stability. It comes across as a defensive play in an uncertain economy, and it’s already drawn interest from investors looking for recession-resistant assets.
Fast-forward to 2025…
And Chime Financial (CHYM) is a fresh success story from June. This fintech darling, known for its no-fee banking app, soared on debut, pushing its market cap over $12 billion. Even though that’s below its 2021 valuation peak of $25 billion, the recovery is notable and shares jumped significantly post-IPO amid a reviving market.
Chime’s got 60 million users and reported $4 billion in revenue for 2024, up 72% from the prior year. It’s interesting how fintechs like this are bouncing back with the Fed’s rate cuts and a more business-friendly environment under the new administration, making digital banking more appealing.
CoreWeave (CRWV) is another 2025 highlight, going public in June and closing 42% higher than its IPO price on the third day of trading. Valued at billions thanks to its Nvidia-powered cloud infrastructure for AI and blockchain, it’s one of the largest tech IPOs since 2021. The demand for GPU computing is through the roof, and CoreWeave’s enterprise value hit eye-popping levels, reflecting investor hype around AI infrastructure.
Wrapping this up, these large-cap IPOs over the past year show a market that’s rewarding innovation and scale. From Reddit’s user-driven growth to CoreWeave’s AI prowess, the successes highlight resilience in tech and essential services, even with some volatility. As we head deeper into 2025, with expectations of more easing from central banks and policy shifts boosting business, it wouldn’t be surprising to see even stronger performances.
If you’re eyeing the market, keep an eye on these— they’ve proven that going public at scale can pay off big time…
Stay tuned for my analysis of upcoming IPOs. There are a number of companies I believe could duplicate, or even beat, the returns of the big winners above.
-Tim Fields
