Wall Street Banks Say IPO Delays Are Temporary as Rising Bond Yields Stall Deals
Wall Street's biggest banks reported uneven third quarter results and told investors the recent IPO slowdown is a pause, not a retreat. Global M&A volumes fell 41% from the prior three months to $993B in the third quarter, per LSEG data.
It's the first time the figure has dropped below $1T since the second quarter of 2025, as megadeals thinned out.
JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told reporters the deals pipeline is very strong, and that deals are being delayed rather than canceled.
Barnum tied the hesitation to the bond market, saying the rate selloff should make the market take a breath while buyers and sellers meet on valuation.
A prolonged bond market selloff has pushed yields to multi-decade highs, raising the bar for how companies get priced.
Valuation gaps are growing
Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon said things got a little bit softer in September, after describing the IPO market as wide open.
His explanation was that an issuer expecting one valuation and getting 10% to 15% less may simply wait.
High-profile postponements from nuclear technology company Holtec and smart ring maker Oura have weighed on the fall listing calendar.
Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser called it a solid pipeline and said the US is the center of the action for advisory and capital markets.
Citi's Chief Financial Officer Gonzalo Luchetti flagged softer investment banking in the quarter, and Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo pointed to a September slowdown too.
Trading and underwriting desks spent the quarter navigating the ongoing Iran war, rising inflation, and investor jitters about the scale of AI infrastructure spending.
Solomon struck a broadly constructive note anyway, calling the economy resilient and pointing to an extraordinary tech supercycle.
Companies are prepping
Renaissance Capital senior strategist Matt Kennedy said the shift from an active summer to a rising-rate environment, combined with questions about AI valuations, will take the pipeline time to digest.
Kennedy said companies aren't canceling listings. They're filing confidentially, selecting banks, and keeping their options open for better conditions.
Despite the string of delays and mixed bank results, 2026 remains on pace to beat last year's deal count.
The backlog of listings is still building behind the scenes, and the reopening trigger is bond yields rather than company fundamentals.
