Goldman Sachs analysts are forecasting a substantial rebound in U.S. equity offerings in 2026, projecting that IPO proceeds will rise to a record $160 billion - roughly four times the prior pace - as the market’s dealmaking momentum returns. The bank also expects the number of initial public offerings to climb to about 120 listings nationwide, driven by what it describes as improving economic growth, stronger equity prices and easier financial conditions that are restoring corporate appetite for public markets.
According to the note published by the analysts, the $160 billion prediction represents the largest annual total in absolute dollar terms on record. They caution, however, that even at that scale IPO proceeds would still constitute only a modest share of total U.S. market capitalization, given how much the equity market has expanded over the past decade.
So far in 2026, 12 companies have completed IPOs raising about $5 billion in aggregate. The group includes AI equipment maker Forgent Power and biopharmaceutical firm Eikon Therapeutics. Among private candidates that could add substantial proceeds to the calendar is AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems - a rival to Nvidia - which recently secured $1 billion in a late-stage financing that valued the company at $23 billion and remains a contender for a public listing.
Goldman notes that software and healthcare companies are expected to dominate the pipeline in terms of volume of listings, while a relatively small number of late-stage technology and artificial intelligence companies are likely to account for the bulk of total proceeds. At the center of investor attention are ultra-valuable private firms such as SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI, whose potential public debuts the analysts say will help determine both the size and tone of the coming IPO cycle.
The bank modeled a range of outcomes for listings by large private companies in 2026, with total proceeds spanning roughly $80 billion at the low end to almost $200 billion at the high end, compared with the $160 billion base case.
Analysts also flagged risks to the outlook. An early-year selloff in software stocks has underlined valuation risk for the sector, which accounts for about a quarter of the IPO backlog. The analysts emphasized that continued volatility in share prices and corporate confidence represent key macro risks to the forecast. They specifically called out the heavy weight of software in the backlog as an additional vulnerability.
In sum, Goldman’s projections reflect a market dynamic in which broad-based improvements in financial conditions and a few very large private listings could combine to produce a record year for IPO proceeds. At the same time, sector-specific valuation pressures and the prospect of renewed market volatility could temper activity or alter the ultimate fundraising totals.