Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon stated in an interview on Wednesday that the investment bank expects to experience its busiest week for initial public offerings (IPOs) since July 2021. This comes after Swedish "buy now, pay later" lender Klarna completed its highly anticipated IPO in New York earlier that day, setting the stage for more fintech companies to go public. Solomon emphasized: "We will conduct more IPOs this week, with Goldman Sachs' IPO activity volume exceeding any period since July 2021."
As equity markets recover and tech stocks surge on their debut trading days, investor confidence in new offerings has returned—a confidence that had plummeted to its lowest point in April this year when massive U.S. tariff increases triggered global market turmoil. Specifically, design software company Figma Inc (FIG.US) and cryptocurrency exchange Bullish (BLSH.US) both saw their stock prices more than double in their first trading sessions, while space technology company Firefly Aerospace (FLY.US) soared nearly 56%.
To prepare for the long-awaited trading revival, Wall Street banks have hired dozens of executives in recent months to strengthen their teams. Regarding the mergers and acquisitions market, Solomon disclosed data showing current M&A activity has increased approximately 32% year-over-year, with transactions exceeding $10 billion achieving 100% growth.
However, despite the bustling autumn IPO window, the market still faces multiple risks: inflation remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, and the U.S. labor market has begun showing cracks, raising concerns about economic resilience—Solomon specifically noted that "some employment data has already shown signs of economic weakness." Additionally, the impact of tariff policies remains uncertain, with businesses and investors evaluating the effects of repeated tariff increases on consumer spending.
When discussing trade policy uncertainty, Solomon stated: "I have no doubt this will impact economic growth, but the specific degree of that impact is difficult to quantify."