Goldman Sachs Says US IPO Quality Far Exceeds Dot-Com Era, Funding Scale Remains Moderate

Goldman Sachs said on June 1, 2026, that the quality of companies entering US public markets today far surpasses the dot-com bubble period, allaying fears of a repeat of the late 1990s frenzy. The bank’s strategist Ben Snider noted that just 40 initial public offerings have raised $28 billion year-to-date, with full-year IPOs likely to total around 100. That compares with over 250 in 2021 and nearly 400 in 1999, roughly in line with long-term averages. Snider raised his 2026 IPO fundraising forecast to $225 billion and total equity financing including follow-ons to $675 billion, but stressed that amount represents only about 1% of US market capitalization, well below the 1.5% average since 1995. Snider cited SpaceX as an example of a high-quality company with solid fundamentals, noting its revenue surged an estimated 33% to $187 billion in 2025. Goldman sees current valuations supported by reasonable expectations for future earnings and cash flow, rather than speculative excess. The firm argues that as long as quality issuance continues without a flood of loss-making firms, the rally can persist rationally.