Here are the IPOs we are expecting in 2026

If you’ve been paying attention to the markets this spring, you already know the narrative: the IPO drought is officially over. After a few years of tentative public debuts, 2026 is shaping up to be a historic year for Wall Street. The unicorns aren't just knocking on the door—they are kicking it down.

But as the hype machine goes into overdrive, retail investors need to be careful. Just because a company has a massive valuation and a famous CEO doesn't mean it deserves a place in your long-term portfolio. Let’s break down the major upcoming listings, including the massive AI wave and the space race, to separate the generational wealth builders from the money pits.

Here are the major IPOs of 2026—what to buy, and what to avoid.

SpaceX

The Verdict: Buy the Launch, Sell the Swings (Do Not Hold)

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The impending SpaceX IPO is sucking all the oxygen out of the financial press right now. When the bell rings later this year, the FOMO is going to be astronomical.

Here is my playbook: buy quickly when it launches to ride the initial retail momentum, and sell the swings to the upside. Do not hold this stock long-term. Why? First, the math on the cap table is terrifying for new money. Early private investors are already sitting on 10x returns. When those post-IPO lockup periods expire, the massive wave of insider unlocks is going to create immense downward pressure on the stock.

Second, the fundamentals don't support a buy-and-hold strategy right now. SpaceX is currently a money-losing company. To justify its astronomical private valuations, the company has heavily pivoted to pitching "data centers in space." Let me be clear: I believe this is an empty promise. It’s a great sci-fi narrative to raise capital, but it’s not going to gain any real commercial traction in the next five years. Ride the volatility, take your profits, and get out before gravity takes hold.

Anthropic

The Verdict: Strong Buy and Hold

While the media focuses on the loudest voices in the room, Anthropic has been quietly building an absolute juggernaut. Of all the AI pure-play IPOs this year, this is the one I am most bullish on.

Why? Because they have successfully captured the Enterprise space. While others were busy fighting PR battles over consumer chatbots, Anthropic focused heavily on safety, reliability, and B2B integration. Corporate America is adopting their models at a staggering rate because they offer the enterprise-grade security that Fortune 500 boards actually trust. This is a sticky, high-margin revenue model that will reward long-term shareholders. Add them to your core portfolio.

OpenAI

The Verdict: Hard Avoid

If Anthropic is the disciplined enterprise play, OpenAI is the cautionary tale of hyper-growth without cost control. I hate this IPO, and I strongly recommend avoiding it.

Despite their early first-mover advantage, OpenAI remains a massive money-losing operation with no clear path to profitability in sight. A large part of this comes down to leadership. Sam Altman has proven to be extremely wasteful with capital. The cash burn rate is staggering, and strategic blunders are piling up. Case in point: the recent Dan Ives acquisition was an absolute disaster that destroyed shareholder value before the company even hit the public markets. They are bleeding cash to maintain market share, and public market investors are going to be left holding the bag. Stay far away.

Honorable Mentions to Watch

Beyond the big three, we are also keeping a close eye on the fintech and data sectors. Companies like Stripe and Databricks are heavily rumored to finalize their S-1s before Q3. We’ll be doing deep dives on both as their numbers become public, but early indications suggest they offer far healthier balance sheets than some of the AI hype-plays.