Hedge fund manager Philippe Lafont has issued a stark warning about the current state of the US IPO market, arguing that the ecosystem for taking companies public has deteriorated significantly.
The founder and portfolio manager of Coatue Management said today’s market bears little resemblance to the vibrant IPO pipelines of past decades.
“The IPO market is completely broken… beyond repair,” Laffont said Thursday at the CNBC Delivering Alpha conference. “Twenty or 30 years ago there were far more IPOs than there are today. There were very few IPOs…almost none.”
He said that could be problematic for everyday investors, who are increasingly locked out of high-growth companies until valuations have already skyrocketed.
“I don’t think this is a great trend, because at the end of the day, it’s just easier for individual investors to participate post-IPO than before,” Laffont said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Laffont’s fund manages about $70 billion in assets. “So I think that’s a little unfair.”
The number of U.S. IPOs has fallen sharply in recent years as companies choose to remain private for longer periods. Market volatility, rising interest rates and regulatory scrutiny are also dampening the risk appetite of both issuers and underwriters.
But General Atlantic Chairman and CEO Bill Ford said he is more optimistic about the IPO market, even though the government shutdown has affected momentum.
There were 191 IPOs priced in the U.S. this year, up 48% from last year but still below levels from 2018 to 2021, according to data from Renaissance Capital.
Philippe Laffond, founder and portfolio manager of Corchu Management, speaks at CNBC’s “Delivering Alpha” event in New York City on November 13, 2025.
Adam Jeffrey | CNBC
