Best IPO Stocks to Buy in 2026: Latest Upcoming Stocks to Watch

Top recent IPO stocks (2025-2026)

IPO stocks to watch in 2026

These companies haven't gone public yet, but they're among the most hyped offerings in years.

1. OpenAI

OpenAI is one of the most anticipated IPOs in Wall Street history as the generative AI leader was valued at $730 billion pre-money in its most recent funding round in Feb. 2026 after raising $110 billion from Softbank, Amazon, and Nvidia.

While it's been easy for the company to raise money in the private markets, the ChatGPT creator could go public as soon as this year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the company is preparing for a public offering in the fourth quarter of 2026, aiming to beat rival Anthropic to market. The company recently restructured its business as a for-profit enterprise and defined the stakes that investors like Microsoft hold in the company.

2. Anthropic

Not to be outdone, Anthropic, the other leading AI company and maker of the Claude chatbot, is also reportedly planning its own IPO.

The start-up was valued at $350 billion in its last funding round, and, as of Feb. 2026, was close to raising $20 billion in another round.

In December, Financial Times reported that Anthropic had hired the law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for an IPO that could happen as early as 2026.

Anthropic has gotten a lot of attention for its Claude Code tool, which has driven a sell-off in software stocks, as some investors believe it could replace a lot of traditional coding and software.

3. SpaceX

SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, is also on the list of high-profile companies that could go public this year. Musk himself has confirmed reports that the company intends to go public this year, and an offering could come as soon as June.

The Wall Street Journal said Musk's lieutenants have reached out to index managers to secure earlier inclusion for the company, a strong sign of its intention to go public.

SpaceX also recently merged with xAI, Musk's AI company, presumably in part to beef up its prospects ahead of an IPO.

How to evaluate an IPO stock

Once a company files its S-1 prospectus with the SEC, you can dig into its actual finances. Here's what to focus on:

• Revenue growth: How fast is the top line expanding, and is the rate accelerating or decelerating?
• Profitability: Is the company profitable on a GAAP basis? If not, how long until it could be?
• Business model: Is this a proven model (cloud software, payments) or an unproven concept that needs to establish itself?
• Customer concentration: Heavy reliance on a handful of customers is a risk — CoreWeave is a good example.
• Valuation: Plenty of IPOs have excellent businesses but debut at prices that make it impossible to generate a return. Don't chase heat.

One more thing worth knowing: IPO stocks are subject to lockup periods -- typically six months -- that prevent insiders from selling. When those expire, the stock can drop if insiders rush for the exits.

How to buy IPO stock

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. 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.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

Pros and cons of investing in IPO stocks

There are a number of pros and cons to investing in IPO stocks. Let's review some of the big ones.

Pros:

• Investing in IPOs can get you exposure to big winners.
• Most top stocks were once IPOs.
• You can get in early on a stock you like.

Cons:

• Most IPOs underperform the market.
• IPOs tend to be more volatile and riskier than the average stock.
• It can take time for an IPO to find equilibrium in the market, and it's hard to know where it will settle.

In general, IPOs offer substantial potential upside and occasionally produce big winners, but most debuts do not perform as well as the S&P 500, whose stocks have proven their mettle on their way to earning their membership in the index.

Tax considerations for IPO investors

If you are buying an IPO stock that's already publicly traded, the tax implications are the same that they would be for any stock.

You'll want to consider the holding period as holding the stock for less than a year will be considered short-term capital gains, which is treated like ordinary income. Long-term capital gains, on the other hand, is charged at a lower rate, though it can be as high as 20%, depending on your marginal tax bracket.

For insiders, including employees and early investors, you'll want to consider the impact on restricted stock units (RSUs), which often have a default 22% tax withholding, and IPOs can cause RSUs to vest, meaning they become taxable as ordinary income immediately.

If you own stock options ahead of an IPO, exercising them before the stock goes public can work to your advantage to save on taxes.

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