Last year witnessed significant volatility in global financial markets. EasyMarkets observed that while cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence (AI) dominated headlines, their actual performance in the IPO market was rather disappointing, even negatively impacting the overall investment returns of the U.S. new stock market to some extent.
Data from Bloomberg revealed that, excluding closed-end funds and SPACs, U.S. listed companies achieved a weighted average gain of only 13.9% last year, a figure notably lower than the S&P 500's 16% increase during the same period. EasyMarkets noted that although the policy environment last year boosted Wall Street's confidence in funding the crypto sector, the market's mechanism of survival of the fittest remained harsh. Taking stablecoin giant Circle (CRCL) as an example, despite surging 170% on its first trading day in June at an IPO price of $31, its stock price has since retreated nearly 70% from its peak amid price adjustments in major cryptocurrencies.
Concurrently, investments in the AI sector have not been guaranteed profits. The post-listing performance of data center developer Fermi and AI expense platform Navan both fell short of expectations. Within the crypto exchange sector, Gemini (GEMI) and Bullish (BLSH) also delivered underwhelming results, with Gemini declining over 65% since its listing in September. Experts from PwC believe that 2025 will be a year of "significant divergence" for the new stock market, where the barriers to entry have substantially increased.
Further data indicates that large IPOs with sizes exceeding $1 billion achieved an average gain of 20%, whereas mid-sized IPOs saw only a 5.6% increase. In response to this phenomenon, EasyMarkets argues that the current capital market has firmly returned to a "fundamentals-driven" logic. Investors are no longer merely paying for grand narratives; instead, they demand clearer profitability logic and more stable operational direction from companies. Amid a volatile macroeconomic environment, investors should focus more on the core value of enterprises rather than simply chasing industry hotspots.
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