| # | Company Name | Ticker | Sector/Industry | IPO Date | IPO Price | First-Day Close | Current Price | Performance | IPO Valuation ($B) | Amount Raised ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Workday | WDAY | Cloud/Enterprise Software | 10/12/2012 | $28 | $48.69 | ~$250 | +793% | $4.5 | $637 |
| 2 | Palo Alto Networks | PANW | Cybersecurity | 7/20/2012 | $42 | $53.13 | ~$310 | +638% | $2.8 | $260 |
| 3 | ServiceNow | NOW | Cloud Computing | 6/29/2012 | $18 | $23.75 | ~$750 | +4066% | $2.0 | $210 |
| 4 | Splunk | SPLK (Acquired) | Big Data Analytics | 4/19/2012 | $17 | $35.48 | ~$156 (acq. price) | +818% | $1.6 | $230 |
| 5 | META | Social Media | 5/18/2012 | $38 | $38.23 | ~$500 | +1215% | $104 | $16,000 | |
| 6 | Guidewire Software | GWRE | Insurance Software | 1/25/2012 | $13 | $16.08 | ~$120 | +823% | $1.0 | $115 |
| 7 | Tableau Software | DATA (Acquired) | Data Visualization | 5/17/2012 | $31 | $50.75 | ~$177 (acq. price) | +471% | $1.9 | $254 |
| 8 | ExactTarget | ET (Acquired) | Marketing Software | 3/22/2012 | $19 | $24.10 | ~$44 (acq. price) | +132% | $1.2 | $161 |
| 9 | Annie's | BNNY (Acquired) | Organic Food | 3/28/2012 | $19 | $35.92 | ~$46 (acq. price) | +142% | $0.7 | $95 |
| 10 | Five Below | FIVE | Discount Retail | 7/19/2012 | $17 | $19.56 | ~$180 | +959% | $0.8 | $126 |
| 11 | Verisk Analytics | VRSK | Data Analytics | 10/19/2012 | $22 | $27.50 | ~$240 | +991% | $4.5 | $1,900 |
| 12 | Tumi Holdings | TUMI (Acquired) | Luxury Luggage | 4/19/2012 | $18 | $26.50 | ~$27 (acq. price) | +50% | $0.8 | $330 |
| 13 | Ellie Mae | ELLI (Acquired) | Mortgage Software | 4/12/2012 | $6 | $8.50 | ~$99 (acq. price) | +1550% | $0.2 | $65 |
| 14 | Norwegian Cruise Line | NCLH | Cruise Operator | 1/18/2012 | $19 | $19.50 | ~$20 | +5% | $3.5 | $447 |
| 15 | WhiteWave Foods | WWAV (Acquired) | Food & Beverage | 1/26/2012 | $17 | $19.50 | ~$56 (acq. price) | +229% | $2.0 | $364 |
| 16 | Carlyle Group | CG | Private Equity | 5/3/2012 | $22 | $19.00 | ~$45 | +105% | $6.7 | $671 |
| 17 | EQT Midstream Partners | EQM (Acquired) | Energy Infrastructure | 7/5/2012 | $21 | $24.50 | ~$30 (acq. price) | +43% | $1.2 | $315 |
| 18 | Realogy Holdings | RLGY | Real Estate Services | 10/11/2012 | $27 | $27.50 | ~$10 (Delisted) | -63% | $1.5 | $1,080 |
| 19 | Caesars Entertainment | CZR | Gaming & Casinos | 2/8/2012 | $9 | $15.31 | ~$45 | +400% | $1.5 | $16 |
| 20 | Manchester United | MANU | Sports/Entertainment | 8/10/2012 | $14 | $16.00 | ~$20 | +43% | $2.3 | $233 |
| 21 | Bloomin' Brands | BLMN | Restaurants (Outback) | 8/8/2012 | $11 | $13.50 | ~$25 | +127% | $2.0 | $176 |
| 22 | Sally Beauty Holdings | SBH | Beauty Retail | 10/11/2012 | $16 | $18.50 | ~$12 | -25% | $2.0 | $375 |
| 23 | Fidelity National Financial | FNF | Financial Services | 5/24/2012 | $16 | $16.50 | ~$50 | +213% | $3.5 | $1,200 |
| 24 | Virtu Financial | VIRT | Trading & Market Making | 4/16/2012 | $19 | $18.50 | ~$20 | +5% | $2.5 | $314 |
| 25 | Coty | COTY | Beauty & Cosmetics | 6/12/2012 | $17.50 | $17.43 | ~$10 | -43% | $4.0 | $1,000 |
| 26 | ADT | ADT | Security Systems | 1/27/2012 | $14 | $15.50 | ~$7 (Delisted) | -50% | $3.0 | $1,300 |
| 27 | Groupon | GRPN | E-Commerce Deals | 11/4/2012 | $20 | $26.11 | ~$15 | -25% | $12.7 | $700 |
| 28 | Trulia | TRLA (Acquired) | Real Estate Online | 9/20/2012 | $17 | $24.00 | ~$44 (acq. price) | +159% | $0.5 | $102 |
| 29 | Zynga | ZNGA | Gaming (Mobile) | 12/16/2012 | $10 | $9.50 | ~$7 | -30% | $7.0 | $1,000 |
| 30 | Palo Alto Networks | PANW | Cybersecurity | 7/20/2012 | $42 | $53.13 | ~$310 | +638% | $2.8 | $260 |
Analysis of the 2012 IPO Market
In 2012, more companies in the US decided to go public than they did the year before. Going public means a company starts selling its shares to people like you & me for the first time—it’s called an IPO or Initial Public Offering. There’s some debate about how many IPOs happened that year. Some say it was 128, while others count 146. Either way, it was a busier year than 2011. All those companies together raised around $43 billion, which is a ton of money. On average, each IPO brought in about $294 million.
Compared to 2011, things looked up in 2012. The year before had 125 IPOs that raised $35.5 billion, so 2012 had more deals & more cash. But here’s the catch: Facebook’s huge IPO, which raised $16 billion all by itself, made a big difference. If you take Facebook out, 2012 actually raised less money than 2011. & even with the uptick, the number of IPOs wasn’t as high as it used to be before the 2008 financial crisis, when we’d see 150 to 200 every year. So, the market was getting better but it wasn’t fully back to its old self.
Certain kinds of companies were really popular for IPOs in 2012. Tech companies—like Facebook, Workday & Splunk—were a big deal. Investors loved them. Financial companies, like Realogy Holdings Corp. & Carlyle Group, also had some big IPOs. Even biotech companies, like Supernus Pharmaceuticals, got in on the action, though some did great while others didn’t. A new law called the JOBS Act, passed in April 2012, made it easier for smaller companies to go public, which probably helped more of them take the leap.
Notable IPOs of 2012
Some IPOs in 2012 really stood out because they were huge or made a splash. The biggest one was Facebook, that social media site everyone knows. It went public on May 18, 2012 & raised a whopping $16 billion, making it one of the largest tech IPOs ever. Its shares started at $38 each but the first day was a bit messy with some tech glitches & it didn’t take off as fast as people hoped.
Other tech companies had their moment too. Workday, which makes software to help businesses manage money & people, had a strong IPO. Splunk, a company that digs into big piles of data for businesses, saw its stock shoot up after going public. Palo Alto Networks, which focuses on cybersecurity & Guidewire Software, another business software company, also started off well.
Outside of tech, there were some other big players. Santander Mexico, a bank, raised $2.9 billion. Realogy Holdings Corp., a company tied to real estate, brought in $1.08 billion. These show that it wasn’t just tech companies grabbing attention—other industries were in the mix too.
Performance Highlights of the 2012 IPO Class
When a company goes public, everyone watches what happens to its stock price. In 2012, the average IPO saw its stock go up by 21% over the year, which is a nice win for investors. Some companies crushed it. Vipshop Holdings, a discount online store from China, was the star—its stock jumped 154%, more than doubling. Proto Labs, a company that makes parts for prototypes, saw its stock rise by 144.5%. Guidewire Software wasn’t far behind, with a 137% increase.
But it wasn’t all good news. Some IPOs tanked. Envivio, a video services company, saw its stock drop by 81.4%. CafePress, which makes custom stuff like t-shirts, fell by 72.5%. Ceres, a biotech company, lost 71.5% of its value. Other flops included Enphase Energy, Midstates Petroleum & a few more. It just goes to show—not every IPO is a sure bet.
The first day of trading was a bright spot for a lot of these companies. On average, stock prices went up by 14% that first day—the best since 2001. Plus, only 19% of IPOs ended their first day below the starting price, compared to 33% in 2011. That means investors were feeling pretty good about these new companies right out of the gate.
Conclusion
All in all, 2012 was a solid year for IPOs in the US compared to 2011. More companies went public & they raised more money—thanks in big part to Facebook’s massive debut. Tech companies were the hot ticket, with a bunch of them doing really well. But there were winners in other areas too, like finance and biotech.
That said, not every IPO worked out. Some companies saw their stock prices crash, which shows you’ve got to pick carefully if you’re investing. Still, the strong first-day jumps and fewer stocks starting off in the red pointed to growing confidence from investors.
Even with the progress, 2012 didn’t match the IPO boom from before the 2008 crisis. The market was on the mend but it still had some catching up to do.
