Key Points
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The stock market rally is broadening beyond AI and the Magnificent Seven, with bank stocks, consumer discretionary, and small-caps outperforming.
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The IPO market is expanding beyond tech, with upcoming offerings from a nuclear energy firm, a flood insurer, and a community bank.
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A potential $5 billion IPO from medical supplies giant Medline would be the largest of the year, signaling strong market sentiment.
The stock market rally is no longer just about artificial intelligence and the Magnificent Seven—or the “Fine Nine” if you throw in Broadcom
and Oracle.Bank stocks, the consumer discretionary sector and small-caps have all outperformed the S&P 500
over the past three months. And now it looks like this broadening trade could soon include initial public offerings as well.
The IPO market has been red hot this summer, led by companies in buzzy tech niches such as stablecoin provider Circle Internet Group, design software firmFigma, and crypto exchange Bullish. But investors looking for more diversification in the IPO market will have their pick the week starting Sept. 29.
Real estate investment trust/nuclear energy firmFermi, backed by former Texas governor and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is on tap to go public. To be sure, there is an AI angle to Fermi. But that isn’t the case as much for flood insurer Neptune and community bank Commercial Bancgroup. If these offerings do well, other companies in non-tech industries could look to go public later this year or in 2026 as well.
Another non-tech firm, medical supplies giant Medline, is reported to be looking at an IPO soonand could raise $5 billion from the stock sale. That would be the largest IPO of the year and would come shortly after medical imaging and diagnostics company Heartflow enjoyed a solid debut. That would be a healthy sign for the broader market.
“An open IPO window says a lot about general market sentiment. Most private companies cannot go public anytime they want,” said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research in a report Friday. “Rather, they must wait for when investors are bullish enough to entertain the idea of buying a company with no public market track record.
