Goldman Sachs: The AI boom is nowhere near the frenzy of the dot-com bubble, with only around 50 new IPOs this year.

Goldman Sachs notes that the 2026 U.S. stock market IPO market is experiencing its strongest rebound in recent years, but is nowhere near replicating the speculative frenzy of the dot-com bubble era. So far this year, around 50 companies have listed in the U.S., doubling the count from the same period last year; by deal value, mid-year issuance volume has reached roughly $120 billion, matching the full-year record set in 2021. Goldman Sachs Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Ben Snider said in the bank’s podcast that this is to some extent just a normal recovery, driven by a cluster of large companies going public and robust financing demand in the AI sector. While bubble warning signs—including high valuations, strong investor confidence, and AI as the dominant investment theme—warrant attention, Snider emphasized that one key metric remains far from historical peaks: the number of IPOs. Over the past 25 years, the U.S. has averaged roughly 100 IPOs annually; the current pace is close to that level, compared to over 250 in 2021 and nearly 400 at the 1999 peak of the dot-com bubble. “Despite the fairly high deal value and accelerating activity, in my view, it is still far from the exuberance seen in those periods,” Snider said.