FY26 IPO Analysis: Why Most Indian IPOs Fell Below Issue Price Despite Strong Fundraising

MACRO PICTURE OF MAINBOARD IPOS IN FY26

With just one trading session to go for the conclusion of FY26, it is time to look back at the IPO story. Fiscal year FY26 saw robust IPO collections of ₹1,75,186 crores across 108 IPOs. There is still the IPO of CMPDI slated to be listed on 30-March. What stood out is that only 37 of these 108 IPOs are trading above their issue price, while 71 of the IPOs in FY26 are below IPO price. Here is a snapshot of 20 largest IPOs of FY26 by issue size.

HOW DID THE 20 LARGEST IPOS OF FY26 PERFORM?

1. The 20 biggest IPOs of FY26 raised ₹1,12,634 crore between them, i.e. over 64% of the total funds raised via IPOs in FY26. Top 20 IPO basket gave returns of 12.07%.
2. Out of the 20 biggest IPOs, 11 are above IPO price and 9 are below the IPO price. Ather Energy was the star at 148% returns, followed by Groww at 62% and LG 35%.
3. The 20 biggest IPOs got average subscription of 14.62X. 11 of these IPOs got single-digit subscriptions; with only 3 of these 20 IPOs getting subscribed over 40X.

HOW DID THE 108 IPOS PERFORM OVERALL IN FY26?

While the 20 biggest IPO performance gives a picture of investor significance, what also matters is how the overall IPO performance for the year has been.

1. Out of the 108 IPOs, 37 are trading at a premium and 71 are trading below the issue price. A full IPO basket for FY26 would have delivered 7.58% returns.
2. On the positive side, 4 IPOs gave 100% returns or more; and 10 gave over 40%. On the downside, 13 IPOs fell over 50%; and 34 IPOs fell by more than 30%.
3. The top 10 IPOs by returns had average subscription of 54.2X, while bottom 10 IPOs by returns averaged subscription of 26.5X. Returns are more than just subscription.
4. Out of the 108 IPOs, only 4 IPOs were subscribed over 100X and 23 IPOs over 50X. A total of 49 out of the 108 IPOs had just single-digit IPO subscription in FY26.
5. Out of the 71 IPOs that are trading below the IPO issue price, around 32 IPOs had actually listed at a premium but eventually dipped below the IPO issue price.
6. The good news is that the biggest IPOs as a portfolio have given better basket returns compared to overall IPOs. Size has actually been an advantage for IPOs in FY26.

Clearly, there has been a tapering of subscription interest of HNI/NII and retail subscribers in IPOs in FY26. This has also impacted price performance. The message is that the issuers need to leave more on the table for the IPO investors.