M&A Watch: A String of Hot IPOs Could Spark Second-Half Dealmaking

Another pair of IPO gangbusters played out last week. On the heels of the outright fervor that came with CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) and Circle (NYSE:CRCL) earlier in Q2, shares of Voyager Technologies (NYSE:VOYG) soared by 82% on their first day of trading. The space- and defense-technology company saw its stock rise by triple digits (percent) intraday last Wednesdayinvestors were clearly excited about the firm's niche.

Voyager partners with firms like Airbus, Mitsubishi, and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) in low-orbit endeavors, and with Aerospace & Defense being among this year's top-performing industry groups, it's easy to see why shares lit up screens early on.[1]

While the total IPO count is still low, the window seems cracked open. Following Voyager's stock taking flight mid-week, Chime Financial (CHYM) made its much-anticipated debut, raising $864 million after pricing above its initial estimated range.[2] CHYM was music to the bulls' ears, surging 39% on Thursday.

Brokerage platform eToro (NASDAQ:ETOR)[3] and virtual physical-therapy company Hinge Health (NYSE:HNGE)[4] are other notable go-public stories in 2025, raising $310 million and $864 million, respectively, both of which priced above their anticipated ranges.

So, animal spirits are alive and well, right? Not so fast. According to Wall Street Horizon's data, dealmaking numbers remain depressed. Total M&A announcements are merely flat on a year-on-year basis, continuing a trend that began some three years ago, after the capital markets boom of late 2020 and throughout 2021.

M&A Watch: A String of Hot IPOs Could Spark Second-Half Dealmaking

Source: Wall Street Horizon

The hope was that a more favorable administration in the White House and a business-friendly Congress would get the ball rolling with looser regulations, fueling corporate decision-makers to shake hands and ink agreements.

That bullish backdrop has not panned out. Instead, tariffs make the macro environment uncertain, and CEOs and CFOs are apparently unwilling to strike deals. Still, with massive rallies in some recent IPO stocks, bankers' hopes may just be rekindled.

It's not a total M&A malaise, though. 2025 has brought about a rash of smaller buyouts valued at under a few billion dollars. In the first quarter, PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) agreed to buy prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.6 billion. In the mortgage space, Rocket Cos. (NYSE:RKT) purchased Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN) for $1.75 billion.