Ikea is one of the world's largest furniture retailers. The company has made a name for itself by selling ready-to-assemble furniture, decorations, and accessories that resonate with consumers.
While Ikea is a well-known global brand these days, it had humble beginnings. The company started in 1943 when 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who grew up on the Elmtaryd farm in the southern Swedish village of Agunnaryd, registered the trademark IKEA based on the first letters of his name and where he grew up.
Ikea has grown into a very large, profitable, and popular global retailer. That has many of its fans and investors wondering whether it will ever make an initial public offering (IPO). Here's a look at everything you need to know about how to invest in Ikea, as well as some alternatives to consider while the company remains privately owned.
IPO
Is Ikea publicly traded?
Ikea is not a publicly traded company. The Inter Ikea Foundation owns the Inter Ikea Group. The foundation is a self-owned entity.
When will Ikea IPO?
Ikea didn't have an IPO on the calendar as of late 2025, and it likely won't complete an IPO anytime soon. The company's owner, Inter Ikea Foundation, has one main purpose: to maintain the independence of the Ikea concept. One way to ensure Ikea remains independent is to keep it private.
How to buy Ikea stock
You can't buy Ikea stock because it's a private company owned by the Inter Ikea Foundation. Given that ownership structure, investors might never get the chance to buy shares of Ikea in an IPO.
However, investors do have alternative options to Ikea worth considering. Here are three top retail stocks with excellent track records of growing value for their shareholders.
Amazon
Amazon (AMZN +1.43%) is an e-commerce leader. The company's net sales totaled $167.7 billion in the second quarter of 2025, up 13% from the year-ago period.
Meanwhile, its net income grew from $13.5 billion to $18.2 billion. Amazon's rapidly rising revenue and soaring profits have enabled it to produce robust returns for investors for many years. Its average annual return over the last decade was about 24%, smashing the S&P 500's 12.9% annual total return.
Net Income
Costco
Costco (COST -1.05%) is a leading membership warehouse operator with 910 locations, including more than 626 in the U.S. Costco rang up $185 billion of net sales in the first three quarters of 2025, an 8.2% increase from the prior year. The warehouse giant's net income totaled $5.49 billion in that period, up from less than $5.01 billion in the year-ago period.
Costco's steadily growing revenue and earnings have enabled it to deliver strong total returns for its investors over the last decade (about 24% annually). Costco routinely returns a portion of its profits to shareholders through dividends. It paid $1.30 per share each quarter in mid 2025, up from its prior quarterly payout level of $1.16.
Home Depot
Home Depot (HD +0.46%) is a leading home improvement retailer with more than 2,300 locations across North America. The company posted $45.3 billion in sales during the second quarter of 2025, up 4.9% from the prior-year period. The company's steady sales, profits, and dividend growth over the years have helped drive market-beating total returns (16.38% annualized over the past decade).
Shareholder Value
Investors who want to buy one of these Ikea alternatives can purchase shares in any brokerage account. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to invest in stocks like Ikea.
- Open your brokerage account: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Is Ikea profitable?
Ikea publicly releases its annual financial results, which is rare for a privately held company. So we know it's a profitable company.
Inter Ikea Group reported that its total revenues reached 26.5 billion euros (about $27.9 billion at the exchange rate in late 2024) in its 2024 fiscal year from wholesale sales to retailers, franchise fees, and retail sales from the Ikea Delft store. That was an 8.7% increase from its 2023 fiscal year due primarily to a reduction in wholesale pricing for sales to its retailers.
Despite the lower sales, Ikea reported a higher profit. Net income rose to 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in net profit for its fiscal year, up from 1.6 billion euros (almost $1.7 billion) in the previous year. The main factor driving the profit improvement was falling costs for raw materials, commodities, and those related to transportation and logistics.
Ikea's strong and consistent profitability allows it to remain private. The company can retain its earnings to fund its operation and growth, so it doesn't need capital from outside investors.
Should I invest in Ikea?
You can't invest in Ikea because it's a private company. However, you can invest in other retailers capitalizing on the same trends driving Ikea's growth.
For example, Amazon, Costco, and Home Depot have grown their sales and earnings at healthy clips, helping drive their strong total returns during the past decade. While past performance is no guarantee of future success, they're in a strong position to continue growing value for their shareholders.
ETFs with exposure to Ikea
Many people prefer to invest passively rather than actively manage a portfolio of stocks. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) make it easy to invest passively in the market or in specific sectors, like retail.
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)
While you can't gain exposure to a private company like Ikea, you can invest in ETFs focused on retail stocks. Here are a couple of the top retail ETFs to consider.
- SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT -0.39%): This ETF aims to provide investors with broad exposure to the entire retail sector. It held shares of 75 companies as of late 2025, with relatively equal weighting given to each stock. Its holdings included Costco (1.3% of its assets) and Amazon (1.5%). The fund had a 0.35% ETF expense ratio.
- VanEck Retail ETF (RTH +0.18%): The fund focuses on the top 25 U.S.-listed retailers. Three of its four top holdings in late 2025 were Amazon (20.34% of its assets), Costco (7.92%), and Home Depot (7.69%). The ETF also had a 0.35% expense ratio.
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The bottom line on Ikea
While you can't invest in the privately held Ikea, investors interested in the company have lots of alternatives. Leading retailers like Amazon, Costco, and Home Depot have produced strong returns over the years. Meanwhile, ETFs can provide exposure to the retail sector's growth and returns, so you could still potentially profit from stocks capitalizing on the same trends driving Ikea's growth.
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