SpaceX is poised to be the biggest IPO ever. Here are the top U.S. deals to date
In this article BABA ENEL-IT ENL-DE DTE-FF UBER VZ CBRS V GM META RIVN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg
In this article BABA ENEL-IT ENL-DE DTE-FF UBER VZ CBRS V GM META RIVN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk Manuel Orbegozo | Chip Somodevilla | Reuters Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and chairman Joe Tsai, in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. Scott Eels | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Chinese tech and e-commerce giant raised $21.8 billion when it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, the largest IPO in history at the time. More than a decade after its IPO, Alibaba remains a dominant force in its home country through online retail and cloud computing. But the stock has lost well over half its value since peaking in October 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic. Alibaba is also among a growing crop of businesses downsizing with the help of AI. Last year, the company slashed about a third of its workforce as it sold off some retail operations. The company is investing in more semiconductor initiatives to support its AI aspirations. Visa Getty Images Visa hit the public market with a bang in 2008 despite the looming financial crisis. The payments company raised $17.8 billion, and the stock jumped as much as 38% out of the gate. It was a major win for many banking giants strained by the housing collapse, which was bleeding into the rest of the economy.
Visa shares reached a closing high of $373.31 in June and are now trading at around $330. Enel SpA When it went public in November 1999, the Italian multinational utility raised nearly $16.5 billion and set the record for the largest IPO ever at the time. Enel SpA began privatizing with its IPO, but the government of Italy still owns close to a quarter of the company. It's now looking to expand its scope, with plans to invest tens of billions of dollars into growing renewables in the U.S. and Europe between 2026 and 2028. Shares are up close to 25% over the last year. Facebook Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the remote bell ringing ceremony for the opening of trading, May 18, 2012. Zef Nikolla | Facebook via Bloomberg | Getty Images More than a decade after its 2012 debut, Mark Zuckerberg's company still owns the title of largest offering for a U.S. tech company in history, for a bit longer anyway. Now known as Meta, the company raised about $16 billion, instantly setting its market value at about $100 billion. Facebook set the stage for a series of social media IPOs in the years that followed, including Twitter, Snap, Pinterest, and most recently Reddit. Twitter was taken private by Musk in 2022, before changing its name to X and then being acquired by xAI, which is now owned by SpaceX. Over the years, Meta has situated itself as one of the most valuable tech companies by market cap, now valued at about $1.5 trillion.
In 2021, Facebook rebranded to Meta as it set its sights on virtual reality. Recently, the company has ramped up bets on AI, investing over $14 billon in Scale AI last year and bringing its CEO, Alexandr Wang, in-house. General Motors GM CEO Dan Akerson rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange as the automaker returns to the U.S. stock market on November 18, 2010 Getty Images In the automaker's return to the public market in November 2010, General Motors raised $15.8 billion. About a year earlier, the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to its swelling debt load, and overhauled its business as the government delivered a massive bailout. In 2014, the company installed Mary Barra as CEO, the first time a female held the top position at one of the major U.S. automakers. It's been a rocky road, with the stock on several occasions falling below its IPO price as the company has grappled with slowing demand and failed electric vehicle initiatives. Still, the shares have rallied 52% over the past year. Deutsche Telekom European telecom giant Deutsche Telekom raised more than $13 billion when it debuted on the NYSE in November 1996. It was one of the most famous examples of state-owned privatizations, alongside Spain's Telefónica and British Airways. The company, which owns a majority stake in U.S. wireless provider T-Mobile, is currently teaming up with Elon Musk and SpaceX's Starlink on satellite mobile services in 10 European countries, including Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary and Greece.
Rivian A Rivian R1T electric pickup truck during the company's IPO outside the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images Rivian's IPO in late 2021 raised $11.9 billion and its initial pop made the EV maker worth more than Ford or GM at the time. But the shares have plummeted more than 90% since their high, due in part to rising competition overseas and slowing demand for EV. Rivian recently walked back its 2027 profitability goal as it ramps up spending on some of its autonomous tech and new vehicles. In March, Uber invested $1.25 billion in Rivian for up to 50,000 robotaxis over the next five years. AT&T Wireless AT&T 's spinoff of its wireless business raked in $10.6 billion in its April 2000 offering. But the deal, led by Goldman Sachs, was only the beginning of a multistep journey. In 2004, Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth, bought AT&T Wireless. Then, SBC acquired the original AT&T and adopted its name. After the new entity bought BellSouth in 2007, AT&T Wireless was rebranded to AT&T Mobility, now a major subsidiary of AT&T, which is the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., behind Verizon and T-Mobile. WATCH: AI still a huge theme in its early innings
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