On 13th January, Mulberry Wealth Securities published market commentary from London arguing that the two-year slump in global IPO activity is giving way to something more constructive. The firm’s Head of Global Markets, Richard Carver, put it directly. “Public listings are once again becoming an important focal point within global capital markets,” he said.
That shift, if it holds, has been building quietly since mid-2025.
Following a prolonged period of subdued issuance — driven largely by elevated interest rates, stubborn inflation and investor caution — equity capital markets began showing renewed stability through 2025. Since then, easing inflation pressures and clearer central bank signals have gradually improved conditions for companies weighing a move to public markets. None of that guarantees a bumper year. Yet the mood among market observers has nonetheless shifted.
Carver acknowledged the broader dynamic. “As conditions stabilise, we are seeing a wider set of companies reassess their public market ambitions,” he noted, “while investors are closely monitoring new listings as indicators of broader economic confidence.” For a firm operating across London, the United States and the wider EMEA region, that shift carries obvious implications for deal flow.
The sectors driving potential 2026 activity span a notably broad range. Technology and digital infrastructure lead the conversation, though healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services and defence all feature in the pipeline discussion. Meanwhile, thematic currents around artificial intelligence, data infrastructure and digital payments have brought a fresh set of companies into pre-IPO consideration. Geographically, Europe, the United States and parts of Asia-Pacific are all expected to contribute — a more distributed picture than the US-dominated cycles of recent years.
Perhaps the most structurally interesting element, though, is the pre-IPO story.
Over the past several years, a growing number of late-stage private companies have chosen to delay public listings well beyond the timelines that once defined the IPO calendar. That extended private runway, while frustrating for early investors seeking liquidity, has produced something useful: operational maturity. Companies reaching public markets today often arrive with more established revenue profiles, stronger governance frameworks and greater financial resilience than comparable businesses did during the 2020-2021 listing boom. Whether that translates into better post-listing performance remains the open question — but it has at least changed the quality conversation around new issuances.
The anticipated themes for 2026 also reflect broader structural shifts in the global economy. AI and data infrastructure dominate near-term attention, yet healthcare innovation and strategic industrial capabilities are drawing sustained institutional interest alongside them. Together, these sectors suggest IPO markets in 2026 will function less as a single-narrative event and more as a diversified capital formation mechanism across multiple industries simultaneously.
Mulberry Wealth Securities operates internationally through its parent entity, Mulberry Securities Pty Ltd, an Australian-incorporated firm holding Australian Financial Services Licence 530 658 and regulated by ASIC. The firm runs operations across the United States and EMEA in addition to its Australian base, with the London office serving as its European commentary hub.
The firm’s January assessment carries appropriate caveats. Public listings remain subject to regulatory approvals, market volatility and issuer-specific factors that can shift timing and outcomes regardless of broader sentiment. Even so, the direction of travel at the start of 2026 looks materially different from where IPO markets stood twelve months ago.
The real test arrives when specific companies name dates and prices.
