IPO

American  

abbreviation

1. initial public offering: a company's first stock offering to the public.

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IPO British  

abbreviation

1. independent publicly owned company

2. stock exchange initial public offering

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IPO Cultural  

1. Abbreviation for i nitial p ublic o ffering; the first issuance of shares in itself by a public company.

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Etymology

Origin of IPO

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Cerebras filed for an IPO, highlighting its unique Wafer-Scale Engine chip that integrates AI computing cores and memory.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

That would make the Jersey Mike’s IPO bigger than other recent restaurant IPOs.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026

Cerebras first filed for an IPO in September 2024 before withdrawing its filing about a year later, according to the Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The company’s $320 million IPO came as investors look to capitalize on surging defense sector demand amid conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, where Aevex systems were put to the test.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

It is estimated that a person who invested $5,000 in Netflix at its 2002 IPO would have about $30,000 by January 2010, about $200,000 by January 2015, and about $1.4 million by January 2020.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly