India’s stock market fever is showing no signs of cooling. A flood of new share offerings has swept through Asia’s third-largest economy this year, with both large and mid-sized companies racing to list on public markets amid strong domestic investor demand.
From WeWork India to LG Electronics’ Indian arm and Tata Capital, major firms have raised record sums this week alone, even as global markets remain on edge over trade tensions, high tariffs, and geopolitical uncertainty.
Unlike secondary markets, where investors trade existing shares, initial public offerings (IPOs) allow private firms to sell stock to the public for the first time. It’s proving to be a golden ticket for companies eager to cash in on India’s rising retail investor base.
According to Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, 79 firms raised about $11.5 billion in the first nine months of 2025, with another $10 to $11 billion expected before year-end potentially pushing India’s total IPO proceeds above $20 billion. The figure excludes fundraising by small and medium enterprises, suggesting the real tally could be even higher.
“The breadth of opportunities available to investors in India is unlike what we’re seeing in most other markets,” said V. Jayasankar, Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Capital. “It’s not just institutional investors driving this; monthly contributions from small savers through mutual fund schemes are keeping IPO inflows strong.”
The frenzy is fuelled by a decade of strong growth that has produced a wave of mature firms across technology, e-commerce, retail, infrastructure, and healthcare. “This is just the beginning,” said Abhinav Bharti, Head of India Equity Capital Markets at JPMorgan. “India could easily sustain a $20 billion IPO market every year going forward.”
Still, analysts are warning that the enthusiasm must be tempered with caution. “There’s a lot of exuberance,” said Kranthi Bathini of WealthMills Securities. “Investors need to study company fundamentals carefully. Blind investing can be dangerous.”
Ironically, the IPO mania has gathered pace even as India’s broader stock market has underperformed. The benchmark Nifty 50 index has returned just 6% this year, while mid-cap and small-cap indices have fallen into negative territory.
Part of the appeal, analysts say, lies in the prospect of quick listing gains. “Investors are chasing IPOs because they believe in a 15-20% pop when trading begins,” Jayasankar said. But data shows that nearly half of this year’s IPOs are trading below their listing prices, suggesting many were overpriced or affected by weak market sentiment.
Kotak’s analysis indicates only 43 of the 79 newly listed firms have delivered positive returns. Many of the earlier listings were from smaller companies, which tend to be more volatile. Larger, better-capitalized firms are expected to dominate the final quarter, potentially stabilizing performance.
Foreign investors, meanwhile, remain on the sidelines. They have pulled more than $20 billion from Indian equities this year amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and shifting global risk appetite. “Global investors are in wait-and-watch mode,” said Bathini. “India has gone from being a favourite to a cautious bet in just a few months.”
Economist and columnist Vivek Kaul argues that much of the frenzy is being sustained by an ecosystem that profits from hype including investment bankers, fund managers, and market analysts. “It’s a game of perceptions, not fundamentals,” he wrote in the Mumbai Mirror. “Fun for now, but risky if you’re aiming for long-term security.”
For now, though, ordinary Indians remain undeterred. Millions of young, tech-savvy investors are pouring money into IPOs using online trading apps. And with household names like Walmart-backed PhonePe, telecoms giant Jio, and unicorns such as Groww and Meesho preparing to list, India’s IPO party looks set to roll on even if the music eventually slows.
