IPO Waves Peak in Bull Markets, Not Before Downturns

Deutsche Bank Research published a report on 9 June 2026 finding that equity issuance clusters coincide with strong market returns, not stress. Companies and underwriters raise capital when valuations are high and liquidity is deep, contradicting the intuition that firms rush to tap public markets before trouble strikes. The pattern held through the 1999–2000 tech boom and 2020–2021 SPAC surge, reversing after each peak.