A recent E&Y report notes strong IPO activity in the first nine months of 2018, with 166 completed IPOs, which raised $44.4 billion.  This compares to 179 for the full year in 2017, which raised $40.4 billion.  AXA Equitable Holdings was the largest IPO of the first nine months of 2018.  For the first nine months of 2018, VC and sponsor-backed IPOs represented only 29 percent of all IPOs, which is a five-year low for financial sponsor-backed IPOs.  During this nine-month period, financial sponsor-backed IPOs accounted for 38 percent of total capital raised in the public market, which is down from 72 percent over the prior five years.  Foreign private issuer IPOs were at an all-time high in 2018.  There were 46 IPOs during the nine-month period.  Median IPO proceeds for IPO issuers during the period was $142 million.  Healthcare remained the most active sector for IPOs.  Approximately $6.2 billion was raised in Healthcare IPOs in the first nine months of the year.  Tech companies were the second most active and raised $13.7 billion.

The report also addresses the usage of EGC IPO accommodations.  Approximately 91 percent of the EGCs that have filed since the JOBS Act became effective have relied on confidential submission.  The median number of days for EGCs from IPO Registration statement submission date to IPO was 112 days.  A notable change cited in the E&Y report is that in 2018, 56 percent of new EGCs chose to adopt new accounting standards using private company effective dates.  This may be a result of perceived challenges associated with the new standards for revenue recognition, leases, and credit losses. For the period from 2013 through 2018 (9/30), 96 percent of EGCs provided reduced executive compensation disclosures, 80 percent provided two years of audited financials, and 24 percent adopted new accounting standards based on private company effective dates.