It is already mid-November and Indian IPO volumes are on track to break last year’s record, and market participants have eyes on an even sunnier horizon with hopes for a blockbuster year in 2026.

As on 14 November, Indian IPO volumes climbed to almost USD 19.6bn across 312 deals, compared to USD 16.3bn in YTD 2024 across 294 deals, Dealogic data shows.

“The strong momentum in Indian capital markets is driven by a resilient economy with fiscal and macro stability,” said Samarth Jagnani, head of capital markets for India and Southeast Asia at Morgan Stanley. This is “reflected in broad sector participation across consumer, technology, financial services, healthcare, industrials, and real estate,” he added.

Indian markets have held up well due to a strong “structural bid for equities,” said Ravi Dharamshi, founder at ValueQuest Investment Advisors. This included “strong domestic savings, [systematic investment plan] SIP flows, pension money, and an economy still growing faster than most major markets.”

An industry banker pointed to other factors pumping up stock markets: secondary markets were performing; corporate results were better than anticipated; Indian-US trade, hampered by ongoing tariff wars, seemed to be reaching a fair and meaningful resolution; and India’s introduction of the new goods and services tax (GST) was expected to positively impact businesses and consumers.

Furthermore, there is a robust pipeline of Indian IPOs expected for 2026, which could further bolster volumes.

These include telecom giant Reliance JIO, quick commerce firm Zepto, alongside e-commerce firm Meesho.

Also on the table are alcohol producer and manufacturer Carlsberg India and India’s domestic exchange National Stock Exchange, both of which are already in the process of filing IPO documents, hiring bankers, and gearing up for their debuts.

Several listings in the next 12-18 months are expected to come from private equity firms eager to capitalise on equity market momentum rather than pursue strategic sales.

There is also a pipeline of deals from multi-national companies eager to carve out an Indian unit or an Indian presence, following in the footsteps of South Korean retailer LG Electronics and automaker Hyundai.

LG Electronics India is trading 3% below its debut last month, while Hyundai Motors India is up 33% since its debut in October 2024.

Next year aside, there are still some big deals expected this year, including diagnostics firm Fractal Analytics, ICICI Prudential Asset Management and digital payment processor PhonePe.

Source: Dealogic, data correct as at 14 November

Cautionary headwinds despite the boom

Despite market optimism, there are a few cautionary tales.

For one, this year, the average return for IPOs above USD 50m have seen a big drop at 14% versus 25% last year. The average rate of return for IPOs that listed in 2023 is a whopping 71%, according to data by Dealogic.

“What has changed is the mix,” said ValueQuest’s Dharamshi, “[is that] investors today are more selective, more valuation-sensitive, and far more focused on business quality and predictability of cash-flows.”

An industry banker affirmed that while last year’s momentum had been relatively stable, this year had seen much more volatility with a number of factors contributing to muted activity in January, March, and April.

These included US President Donald Trump’s evolving stance on tariffs which threw the world in turmoil, India’s Operation Sindoor, launched in April to combat a terror strike in Kashmir, as well as a disappointing 1Q26 domestic corporate earnings amid weak market sentiment, and foreign institutional investment (FII) outflows to China.

Barring any politically motivated strikes, said the banker, India looked structurally sound next year.

Another orange flag has been on new age tech deals – which have seen a fair bit of backlash on social media channels. Retail investors and individuals have taken angrily to platforms such as X and LinkedIn to decry particular tech companies – which have grown rapidly but have nominal or no profits. C-suite executives of these firms and mutual funds buying into these IPOs have received scathing criticism – in particular with the IPO of eyewear retailer Lenskart which soured the market for tech IPOs such as Pine Labs, which followed soon after. Tech IPO volumes, meanwhile, are down 10% YoY to USD 3.8bn in YTD 2025.

“In India,” said Dharamshi, “we are still early in the listed tech cycle. The market is learning to price risk more rationally, and that is a healthy evolution. Every technology cycle globally goes through phases of exuberance and correction. Investors eventually gravitate towards businesses with proven unit economics, predictable cashflows, and governance discipline. The social-media backlash  …  is simply the market reinforcing these principles.”

Bookrunner winners and future outlook

Despite certain red flags, Indian IPOs are all set for another record setting year.

“India is entering a phase where the market can absorb 1.7%–2.0% of free-float market cap in annual primary issuance, which is healthy but not euphoric,” said ValueQuest’s Dharamshi. “Historically, markets get overheated only when issuance hits 3%–4% of market cap, and we are well below that threshold.”

Bookrunners would agree.

Revenues on Indian IPOS have reached an all-time high of 328m, as at YTD 2025, compared to USD 228m in YTD 2024. This year’s fee performance outranks the previous record of USD 270m in YTD 2021, which has historically been a standout year for records globally for ECM volumes and fees.

Taking the gold as India’s top-most bookrunning fee earner was Axis Bank, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, JM Financial and IIFL Capital Services. Also at the top were American’s Citi and JPMorgan and the UK’s HSBC, while other Indian names included Motilal Oswal Financial Services, ICICI Bank, and SBI Capital Markets.

This year was better than last but the good times do not end now.

“This trend is expected to continue into 2026 and beyond,” said Morgan Stanley’s Jagnani, with next year likely to be another golden one.