208 IPOs and $137 billion in the first half of 2026: what the SEC's 23 September market-statistics release says, and what it does not

A capital-markets press release usually leads with the most striking ratio. The more useful question is what sits behind it: how many deals, over which period, and how evenly the money is spread. This article records the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's release of 23 September 2026 and lists what it does not say.

Press release 2026-93, dated 23 September 2026, announces that the SEC's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) has updated its market statistics and data visualisations covering segments of the U.S. capital markets. The release compares the first half of 2026 with the first half of 2025.

Initial public offerings

• first half of 2026: 208 IPOs, raising $137 billion
• first half of 2025: 180 IPOs, raising $27 billion

Follow-on offerings

• first half of 2026: 557 offerings, raising $111 billion
• first half of 2025: 505 offerings, raising $84 billion

Computed from these figures: the number of IPOs rose by about 16 per cent (208 against 180), while IPO proceeds were roughly five times the previous year's (137 against 27). Follow-on offerings rose by about 10 per cent in number and about 32 per cent in proceeds.

The release quotes DERA's Director and Chief Economist, Dr. Joshua T. White: "DERA's latest data highlight the continued strengthening of U.S. capital formation under Chairman Atkins, with notable growth in both IPOs and follow-on offerings." That is an assessment by the agency about its own period of leadership; the numbers above are the measurement.

The gap between the two growth rates is the key detail. A 16 per cent rise in the number of IPOs alongside a roughly fivefold rise in proceeds means the average deal became much larger — but the release does not say whether that comes from a broad increase or from a handful of very large listings. It names no issuers, gives no median deal size and no sector breakdown. It does not say how IPOs are counted (for example, whether SPACs or direct listings are included), and it does not cover post-listing performance. It contains no forecast.

We read the press release only. The underlying DERA dataset on the SEC's statistics page, where such definitions would be found, we did not open for this article.

A statistical release has three layers: the measured figure, the period and definition behind it, and the commentary attached to it. We keep them apart and do not merge an agency's assessment with its data. The same method sits behind the sourced data in Market Observation, is taught in the Uncle Sunny Academy and practised in the case studies of The Analyst Room. A custom write-up on a specific topic can be requested on the Analysis page.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, press release 2026-93, "SEC Publishes Updated Market Statistics, Highlighting Increase in IPOs and Proceeds Raised", sec.gov, 23 September 2026 — all figures and the quotation.

SEC, Statistics and Data Visualizations — the underlying dataset referenced by the release; not opened for this article.

Educational content. Not investment advice. This article documents the figures in a regulator's statistical release; it contains no recommendation to buy, sell or subscribe to any security or offering.