Dream Exchange Market Report: 2025 Data Reveals 50% Decline in Total U.S. Listed Companies Since 1996 Peak; Highlights SPAC Dominance in New Offerings

The report analyzes the composition of the 202 IPOs priced in 2025 and reviews multi-decade trends in market access and capital formation.

CHICAGO, Jan. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Dream Exchange, an organization dedicated to creating equal access to capital markets for emerging businesses, today released an analysis of the 2025 Initial Public Offering (IPO) data. The report contrasts current year activity against historical averages, revealing significant structural shifts in how United States companies access public capital.

While headline numbers indicate a year-over-year increase in IPO volume, the Dream Exchange analysis highlights a continued reliance on alternative listing vehicles and a long-term reduction in the total number of publicly traded entities.

Key Findings from the 2025 Market Data Report:

• Total Listings Decline: The total number of companies listed on major U.S. stock exchanges has fallen from a peak of approximately 8,090 in 1996 to roughly 4,200 at the close of 2025. This represents a nearly 50% contraction in the number of public companies over three decades.
  
  
• 2025 IPO Volume: There were 352 IPOs priced in 2025, an increase from the offerings recorded in 2024.
  
  
• SPAC Dominance: Of the 352 offerings in 2025, approximately 146 (~70%) were Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) shell companies with no commercial operations.
  
  
• Historical Comparison: The number of traditional operating companies going public in 2025 remains significantly below the historical median of approximately 158 annual IPOs observed between 1980 and 2019.

Implications for Market Access and Equality

The report posits that the thirty-year decline in public listings, combined with the current reliance on SPACs, indicates that the traditional IPO process remains cost-prohibitive or overly complex for many small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). This structure potentially limits wealth creation opportunities for the general investing public and restricts capital access for diverse founders that generally comprise the SMEs.

"The data from 2025 clearly illustrates that while there is an appetite for public listings, the traditional infrastructure is not serving the majority of American businesses," said Joe Cecala, Founder and CEO of Dream Exchange. "When around 70% of market entrants are SPACs, it suggests the front door to the capital markets needs to be widened. Dream Exchange is committed to developing venues, such as those proposed in the Main Street Growth Act, to restore access for operating companies."

Forthcoming Research

Dream Exchange's research team will release comprehensive scholarly work in 2026, further exploring market structure and the decline in the IPO market.

The full analysis can be found on the Dream Exchange blog: https://www.dreamex.com/what-did-the-ipo-market-do-in-2025/ 

About Dream Exchange
DreamEx will be re-filing its Form 1 application with the Commission, seeking registration as a national securities exchange, focused on providing an "on-ramp" for small to mid-sized companies (which are typically owned by minorities) to access the public markets once legislation approving a venture exchange model is enacted into law. While it awaits the enactment of the venture exchange model, DreamEx will build its registered stock exchange, trading in national market system securities, to develop the necessary infrastructure for the new venture exchange when such legislation is enacted into law. Learn more at www.dreamex.com.

Media Contact
Robert Todd, PR Manager, Dream Exchange
773-914-1182
[email protected] 

SOURCE Dream Exchange