Retail appetite for IPOs has been fairly steady over the last four years. As of this year so far, the average retail subscription in IPOs has been 22.7x, lower than the previous three years but nearly the same as the average figure seen in 2023 and 2025.
But that headline number hides a dramatic split within the year itself. Of the 62 IPOs that closed by September 2, 2026, the first 20 between January – June drew an average retail subscription of just 7.5x. The next 42 issues, launched from June onwards, saw average retail subscription of 30x, a four-fold jump from the initial caution.
Granular details also paint a similar picture of a turnaround in retail sentiment. Only two out of the 20 IPOs between January to June had a retail subscription figure crossing 10x. Post June, that number has increased to 23 out of the 42 issuances since.
The caution exercised by retail investors has been adequately rewarded by the street as well, at least as of now. The IPOs between January to June had an average listing premium of 1.3% versus the issue price, in-line with the cautious market sentiment. Strip out the first IPO of the year, Bharat Coking Coal, which listed at a 96% premium to its issue price, that number drops down to a negative 3.7%.
On the flip side, the IPOs post June have delivered an average listing premium of 19%. Tempsens Instruments, listed last week, became the first IPO of 2026 to have doubled from its issue price on the day of its debut.
The broader market stability has also got a lot to do with the change in sentiments. Majority of the IPOs this year fall into the sub-₹1,000 crore size category, and they have done well too. The Nifty Smallcap Index is up 9% since June, while the Nifty 50 and the Nifty Midcap 100 index have been relatively flat.
Most of the IPOs which saw outsized retail subscription, have gone on to deliver outsized returns as well, including the Tempsens Instruments example highlighted above. Barring Shree Ram Twistex, most of the others have delivered returns between 50% to 90%.
Of course, there have been IPOs where retail have exercised caution, and most of them either listed at their issue price or at a discount, but have gone on to do well over the course of their trading journey, having recovered all of their losses. Needless to say, this is not a trend as such that IPOs which list at a discount go on to do well in the future or vice versa.
2026 so far has been a tale of two halves for India’s IPO market. With over 70 issuances already having raised more than ₹70,000 crore, the stage is set for two of the biggest IPOs of the year, Jio Platforms, and NSE, to take the fund raising tally past the ₹1 lakh crore mark for yet another year in the primary markets.
