Q3 2026 IPO Market Opens at Record Pace: Bending Spoons Jumps 43%, Mega-Pipeline Looms

The U.S. IPO market entered the third quarter of 2026 at a pace that has already rewritten the record books. Through June 26, U.S. issuers raised $251 billion in equity offerings — the largest first-half total in history, surpassing the peak set during the 2021 listing boom{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The second quarter alone saw 48 IPOs raise $104.8 billion, capped by SpaceX’s $75 billion offering — the largest IPO on record and more than all U.S. IPO proceeds from the prior two calendar years combined{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

SpaceX (SPCX) priced 555.6 million shares at $135 on June 11, commanding a $1.7 trillion market cap at listing and rising 19% on its first day of trading{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. Even excluding that headline deal, the second quarter would still have been the biggest for IPO proceeds since 2021, with nine other deals raising $1 billion or more, led by AI chipmaker Cerebras{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The Renaissance IPO Index was up 23.9% year-to-date as of June 25, against the S&P 500’s 8.1% gain, while the International IPO Index returned 53.2%{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

Bending Spoons delivers a 43% first-day pop

The first major Q3 listing arrived on July 1. Bending Spoons S.p.A. (BSP), the Milan-based serial acquirer whose portfolio includes AOL, Vimeo, Evernote, and WeTransfer, priced 57.97 million shares at $29 — above its $26–$28 range — raising approximately $1.6 billion at an $18.1 billion market cap{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The stock opened and climbed to $41.42 by late afternoon, a 42.8% premium to the offer price, before closing the regular session at $40.50{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

The deal carried a meaningful secondary component: existing holders sold 23.6 million shares, roughly 41% of the base offering, with the company receiving no proceeds from that portion{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The underwriter greenshoe option covers an additional 8.7 million shares.

Bending Spoons’ operating data gave bulls concrete numbers. First-quarter 2026 revenue more than doubled to $601.3 million from $258.9 million a year earlier, while net income swung to $27.5 million from a $112.2 million loss{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The portfolio served over 500 million monthly active users and 9 million paying customers as of March 2026{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The bear case centers on leverage: the company carries roughly $4.4 billion in debt at 4.0x net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA, and plans to deploy IPO proceeds toward further acquisitions{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

CEO Luca Ferrari said the company has identified “over 1,000 companies that we believe are reasonable acquisition targets”{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. Renaissance Capital strategist Matt Kennedy called the deal “a data point for the software industry,” while cautioning that Bending Spoons has “a very different profile compared to most software IPOs in the pipeline”{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

This week’s deal slate: copper, scooters, and broadband

Beyond Bending Spoons, four additional IPOs were scheduled to price in the final week of June and first days of July:

CopperTech Metals (CUX), a Vedanta Resources spin-off, is raising $400 million at a $3.4 billion market cap via a 23.5 million share offering priced at $16–$18{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The company controls the Konkola Copper Mines complex in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province — one of the largest copper-containing deposits in the world — and plans $2.7 billion in capital expenditures over five years to reach approximately 270,000 tonnes of annual production by FY2030{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. The deal exposes investors to Zambian political risk, which has already caused multi-year operational disputes{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

ITG, a Florida-based broadband and utility engineering firm, is raising $400 million at a $2.5 billion valuation. The company has completed 22 acquisitions since 2019 but faces customer concentration risk, with Comcast and Charter accounting for 60% of 2025 revenue{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. Lime (LIME), the shared e-scooter and e-bike platform operating in roughly 230 cities across 29 countries, is raising $174 million at a $1.8 billion market cap, with 3.1 million monthly active users in Q1 2026 (+22% year over year){{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

The mega-IPO pipeline: OpenAI and Anthropic

The filings that could define the second half are already in motion. OpenAI confidentially filed its IPO registration with the SEC in early June 2026, days after Anthropic filed its own confidential S-1{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. Both companies are reportedly targeting valuations in the $800 billion to $1 trillion range, with OpenAI generating approximately $25 billion in annualized revenue and Anthropic reportedly at a $47 billion annualized run rate{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

Neither company is profitable — a point Reuters highlighted in noting that SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic together could add roughly $3 trillion in market value “and not one is profitable”{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. Anthropic is reportedly targeting an October 2026 listing with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters, while OpenAI’s timeline could fall in September{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

The pipeline extends beyond the AI trio. Forge Global’s June private-market update noted that Lambda, an AI infrastructure company, is reportedly planning an H2 2026 IPO, and Uphold is among other names in the queue{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. Goldman Sachs has forecast that total 2026 IPO proceeds could reach $160 billion{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

Lockup expirations add supply pressure

July brings several lockup expirations that will release insider shares into the market:

• Constellation Energy (CEG): Certain common stock subject to a lock-up agreement ending July 2, 2026{{cite:chatcmpltool}}
• Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. II (BBCQ): Lock-up period ends July 7, covering 25 million shares issued in its IPO{{cite:chatcmpltool}}
• MiniMax (0100.HK): First share unlock on July 9, with strategic investors Alibaba and miHoYo pledging long-term support{{cite:chatcmpltool}}

SpaceX itself faces a post-Q2 earnings lock-up expiry, with reports flagging a July 7 Nasdaq inclusion date and subsequent lock-up release that could test the stock’s unusually low initial free float{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. SPCX closed July 1 at $157.54, down 7.8% on the session{{cite:chatcmpltool}} — a reminder that post-IPO volatility cuts both directions even for the largest deals.

Buybacks and secondaries: the liquidity counterweight

While new issuance floods the market, corporations are simultaneously returning capital. Unilever completed its €1.5 billion 2026 share buyback program, announced via Form 6-K on July 1{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. TON Strategy Company (TONX) entered a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan on July 1 to repurchase stock under its existing $250 million authorization over a two-month window{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) outlined a $2.55 billion cash buffer and buyback plan to mitigate dilution risk{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

On the secondary side, Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV) announced a $500 million share sale paired with a repurchase program — a dual-track capital structure maneuver as Apollo sold down its stake{{cite:chatcmpltool}}. SunPower (SPWR) registered 39.5 million shares for resale to Yorkville, a structured-equity arrangement that underscores the continuing role of alternative financing for smaller-cap names{{cite:chatcmpltool}}.

What to watch next

1. CopperTech Metals (CUX) pricing outcome: The deal’s reception will signal whether investors are willing to underwrite Zambian political risk for copper exposure at a time of elevated copper prices.

2. OpenAI and Anthropic S-1 public releases: Both confidential filings will eventually become public. The timing of the public filings — and the disclosed financials — will set the stage for what could be the two largest AI IPOs in history.

3. SpaceX lockup expiry and Nasdaq 100 inclusion: SpaceX’s addition to the Nasdaq 100 could trigger an estimated $4.3 billion in passive index buying{{cite:chatcmpltool}}, but the concurrent lockup release could offset that demand with insider supply.

4. IQM Quantum (IQMX) debut: The Finnish quantum computing company completed its SPAC merger with Real Asset Acquisition Corp. and begins trading on Nasdaq on July 2{{cite:chatcmpltool}} — a test of investor appetite for pre-revenue deep-tech listings.

5. Renaissance IPO Index breadth: With the index up nearly 24% YTD against the S&P 500’s 8%, the question is whether post-IPO performance can hold as the supply of new listings accelerates in the second half.

The first half of 2026 demonstrated that the market can absorb record issuance without breaking. The second half’s test is whether that capacity extends to a trio of mega-IPOs that, combined, could add more market value than the entire 2021 listing boom — none of them profitable, all of them defining the AI investment thesis for years to come.