An IPO (Initial Public Offering) is when a company sells shares to the public for the first time. Heres how to buy SoFi Technologies it works:
- Private to Public A firm like Airbnb (travel industry) or Rivian (electric cars) raises money by selling stock.
- Underwriters Investment banks like Goldman Sachs help price and market the shares.
- Stock Exchange Listing After approval, shares trade on exchanges like NASDAQ or NYSE.
- Investor Access Early investors (e.g., big funds) may get shares at IPO price; retail traders usually buy once it hits the open market.
Examples:
- Facebook (Meta) in tech had a famous IPO in 2012.
- Beyond Meat in food industry saw huge volatility after listing.
- Snowflake in cloud computing became one of the largest software IPOs.
Pros of investing in IPOs: potential for early entry.
Cons: high risk, unstable prices, limited data.
For beginners, its best to compare across sectors before buying into an IPO.
