India's IPO market remains a hotbed of activity in 2025. Indian investors have been enthusiastic and actively participating in new issues. But they are also becoming far more selective, picking companies with strong fundamentals while staying away from ones with aggressive valuations.
An analyst noted at the ET Soonicorns Summit 2025, “IPOs are making a comeback, but the rules have changed. The old ‘growth at any cost’ approach is fading, and investors now want companies to show profitability, good governance, and transparency before putting in their money”.
Interestingly, while the total number of IPOs has dipped slightly from 217 in 2024 to 197 in 2025 in the January to August period, the amount of money raised has surged by nearly Rs 10,000 crore. This signals a trend of fewer but much larger companies going public. Much of this fundraising has been led by big-ticket issues such as HDB Financial Services (Rs 12,500 crore), Hexaware Technologies (Rs 8,750 crore), Knowledge Realty Trust (Rs 4,800 crore), NSDL (Rs 4,011 crore), and JSW Cement (Rs 3,600 crore), etc.
The pipeline of upcoming offerings is fueling further excitement. Audio and wearable brand boAt is targeting an IPO of Rs 2,000 - Rs 2,500 crore by late 2025. Digital payments leader PhonePe, which handles nearly half of all UPI transactions in India, is expected to file its papers by September 2025. Meanwhile, after a long wait, hospitality startup Oyo is making another attempt at going public, planning to file papers in November 2025. This is Oyo’s third DRHP filing - it withdrew the first, and SEBI sent the papers back on its second attempt. Maybe it will be lucky this time.
The immediate calendar is also packed, with home-services leader Urban Company's Rs 1,900 crore issue that opened on September 10 with an expected listing on September 17. Dev Accelerator and Shringar House of Mangalsutra are also opening on the same dates.
In the edition of Chart of the Week, we take a closer look at India’s IPO market in 2025, highlighting strong investor interest, sector-wise trends, and how selective participation is shaping post-listing performance.
High-flyers and hard landings in 2025
The 2025 IPO market has split into two clear tracks. On one side are the standout performers, where strong fundamentals and heavy bidding translated into healthy gains. Highway Infrastructure leads the pack with a 64.3% listing gain, followed by Aditya Infotech (50.4%) and GNG Electronics (49.8%).
What these companies had in common was high subscription—Highway Infrastructure saw a subscription of over 300X, while Aditya Infotech and GNG Electronics drew bids of 100X and 148X, respectively. All three IPOs saw strong demand from institutional investors, even though the qualified institutional buyers’ (QIBs) average subscription was far behind the HNIs and retail investors.
On the other side are companies that have struggled since their listing day. Laxmi Finance and Indiqube Spaces listed at discounts, losing 13% and 8.9% respectively, while Arisinfra Solutions is currently trading at a 35% discount. The reasons are clear: investors were turned off by factors such as the company not yet being profitable (Indiqube), high debt and a negative PE ratio (Arisinfra), or an issue that simply failed to generate demand, with subscriptions at just 1.9X (Laxmi Finance).
While the overall IPO activity is high, mainline offerings drove the market. In 2024, more mainboard IPOs led to higher funds raised, unlike previous years when SME IPOs surged but raised less due to fewer mainline listings.
Where are investors betting big?
Diving down into specific sectors reveals where investor capital is flowing and why. The cement and construction companies saw one of the strongest listing gains, supported by the government’s infrastructure push through initiatives like the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) and PM Gati Shakti. This policy-driven tailwind fueled the confidence behind Highway Infrastructure’s successful listing.
The hardware technology & equipment sector also delivered healthy listing gains, with Aditya Infotech and GNG Electronics gaining from rising digital adoption and demand for smart-home solutions.
Conversely, the hotels & tourism sector struggled, with Brigade Hotel Ventures and Schloss Bangalore (Leela Hotels) both debuting below their issue prices—at discounts of 9.9% and 6.7%, respectively. Investor caution was evident, as both IPOs were only moderately subscribed at 4.5X. The performance reflects underlying financial uncertainties: Leela Hotels returned to profitability in FY25 after a Rs 2 crore loss in FY24, while Brigade’s net profit declined in FY25.
The general industrials sector saw the highest mainline listings, including Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases, Standard Glass Lining, and Vikran Engineering. Overall, the sector saw generally positive performance, though listing trends were mixed. Ellenbarrie and Standard Glass Lining recorded strong listing gains of over 21%, while Vikran Engineering posted a modest gain of 2%.
The trend in 2025 so far is clear: investor appetite is selective. Companies tied to policy support or structural demand shifts are being rewarded, while those relying on market buzz or stretched valuations face immediate pushback.
Decoding the push behind IPO oversubscriptions
A look at subscription data reveals three distinct investor mindsets. Leading the charge are high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), who oversubscribed their portion by an average of 215X. This aggressive demand is driven by a strategy focused on short-term listing gains.
HNIs often use leverage or borrow funds to place large bids, aiming to profit from the initial "listing pop." Their high-risk, high-reward approach is often a key factor in the massive oversubscription of a public issue, but it can also be a sign of a speculative bubble forming around a company.
Retail investors also showed considerable enthusiasm, with their category being oversubscribed by an average of 91.6X. However, the most insightful trend is seen in the QIBs, which include mutual funds and foreign institutional investors. Their average subscription stood at 45.5X – relatively lower, as the portion allotted to them is much higher than that of HNIs and retail investors, which naturally brings down their subscription multiples.
QIBs are long-term, fundamental-driven investors who are less influenced by market hype. Their participation is often seen as a mark of a company's genuine long-term value, as they are not chasing a quick exit.
Harshal Dasani, Business Head, INVAsset PMS, said, “This divergence—weak secondary trade but robust primary activity—is common in maturing markets. Domestic capital is able to support new issues even when global sentiment is weak. It shows investors prefer fresh growth stories over crowded secondary valuations.”
