The Brutal Reality Of 344 IPOs in 2025: OFS Dominates, Median Returns At 'Zero'

India’s IPO market stood out as one of the busiest segments of the equity space this year. In the last 12 months, 344 companies have gone public, raising over Rs 1.5 lakh crore, according to data cited by Dezerv, a wealth management platform. New issues have become a weekly fixture; oversubscription numbers are tracked closely, and listing-day gains are watched almost like scorecards. It feels as though, for many investors, the IPO market has become the easiest place to make money.

But beneath the surface activity, the outcomes tell a more restrained story.

“Over the last 12 months, 344 IPOs have raised Rs 1.54 lakh crore. Yet when we look at outcomes rather than activity, the picture changes meaningfully. The median return across these IPOs is 0 per cent,” says Sandeep Jethwani, co-founder of Dezerv. While the average return stands at 14 per cent, that number masks a wide dispersion, lifted by a handful of extreme winners. He adds that most issues have delivered far more modest results.

Data from Dezerv shows that nearly 72 per cent of IPOs listed above their offer price, reinforcing the perception of strong demand. However, only about 50 per cent of these stocks are trading above their offer price as on December 10, 2025 and 94 IPOs have already erased their listing gains entirely. In other words, listing-day enthusiasm has often failed to translate into sustained returns.

One of the defining features of this cycle has been the structure of IPOs themselves. “Over the last few years, OFS has consistently accounted for well over 60 per cent of IPO proceeds,” shows data compiled by Dezerv. In an Offer for Sale, existing shareholders sell a part of their stake, and the proceeds do not flow into the company’s balance sheet. “This year is no exception. The public market is increasingly being used as a liquidity window, not just a funding avenue,” says Jethwani.

This shift has sharpened the debate around intent. When a smaller share of IPO proceeds is directed toward capital expenditure, questions naturally arise about whether listings are meant to fund growth or facilitate exits. At the same time, corporate balance sheets are stronger, leverage levels are lower, and many companies have already raised expansion capital privately. With valuations moving higher, partial monetisation has become a rational capital allocation decision.

The study by Dezerv also places IPO exits within a broader capital cycle. Liquidity generated through public markets is being redeployed into private businesses, new fund vintages, early-stage ventures, and equity-funded expansion. Venture capital vintages from 2015 to 2018 are reaching planned exit windows, delayed earlier by the pandemic but now catching up.

For investors, the message is not to avoid IPOs altogether. A meaningful number of companies from this cycle may go on to become long-term wealth creators. But heavy issuance, abundant capital, and narrative-driven pricing have reduced the margin for error. In markets like these, participation alone is not a strategy. Returns, as the data shows, are decided well after listing day, when fundamentals finally take over.

Read Outlook Money's in-depth analysis in the upcoming January 2026 issue.