18/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | MAY 18, 2026

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Big risks and rewards in upcoming IPOs o SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic are

NEW YORK: Wall Street is licking its chops over an unprecedented slate of massive IPOs set to arrive in the coming months, beginning with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in June. That is expected to be followed by artificial intelligence rivals OpenAI and Anthropic. The trio of mega listings, each

markets, their performance will serve as a gauge of the market’s appetite for additional offerings, particularly in the AI market. “If these companies do really well – especially the AI ones, like OpenAI and Anthropic – it would be a confirmation of these really massive private-market valuations,” Zheng said. “But the opposite could also be true. If the companies don’t perform well, investors might conclude they’re overvalued.” Some investors who have backed the three heavyweights in private markets are poised to cash out, potentially positioning them for the next round of tech companies. Private equity firms currently hold more than 30,000 companies that they hope to exit, a backlog that has slowed availability of capital for new prospects. A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted the slowdown, citing one firm that called the dynamic a “winter of exits.” A poor performance by the new entrants could hit the valuations of these private companies, Zheng said. By going public, the companies will also subject themselves to greater scrutiny from investors. The market will “be laser-focused on the performance of those stocks from an operational perspective”, Roberts said. “So they can’t miss their earnings.” Ritter predicted all three companies could see volatility. “There’s going to be big upswings and big downswings, because nobody knows the future,” he said. “Owning these stocks is not for the faint of heart.” – AFP

numbers compared with the norm. “We’re really in unprecedented times,” said Emily Zheng, an analyst for PitchBook, a research platform specialising in private capital. “And this concentration is more extreme than ever.” The trio is poised to enter public markets as the Middle East war adds to inflationary pressures and fogs the geopolitical landscape. But that factor is not expected to impede the arrival of SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic. “These three companies are kind of unique,” said Jay Ritter, a specialist in IPOs at the University of Florida. Mark Roberts, managing partner at the Blueshirt Group, also expects the offerings to be well subscribed. “There’s enough capital to enthusiastically embrace these three companies if they are priced correctly.” Nasdaq, where SpaceX will trade, announced earlier this spring that it would speed up the timeframe for including such mega listings in its main benchmark index. The shift is expected to prod additional stock purchases of SpaceX from investment funds built around the index. Among portfolio managers for larger funds, SpaceX “is probably viewed as a must-have stock”, said Roberts. In anticipation of the listings, there has been a throng of activity on secondary markets where investors are buying unlisted securities, pushing Anthropic’s theoretic value to more than $1 trillion. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have warned investors against securities not authorised by the companies. Once they begin trading on public

eyeing valuations around US$1 trillion or more, constitutes a heady period of elevated risk and reward. SpaceX is targeting an initial public offering that would raise up to US$80 billion, roughly double the funds generated from all 2025 IPOs. OpenAI and Anthropic are eyeing IPOs raising US$60 billion, also huge

each eyeing valuations of US$1 trillion or more

A SpaceX Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft, next in line for a future mission, stand outside the gigabays at the production facility in Starbase, Texas. – REUTERSPIC Scuffles from Europe to New York as Swatch sale descends into chaos

PARIS: The launch of limited edition Swatch watches descended into chaos on Saturday in several European cities and New York, with French police firing tear gas to restore order at one store near Paris. Hundreds of people waited through the night – and in some cases for several days – hoping to get their hands on the “Royal Pop” timepieces, made in collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. In France, lines of hundreds of people formed through the night in several cities, and a police source said officers fired tear gas to control a 300-strong crowd outside a Swatch shop in the Paris region. A metal shutter and two security gates were damaged in the incident, and police said the stores had underestimated the need for security. Things also turned ugly in Milan, where a fight broke out in front of a Swatch store at opening time on Saturday, according to footage broadcast by local media. In the Netherlands, police had to intervene at a mall near The Hague after hundreds of people flocked to the store. According to the police, “there was a tense atmosphere and some quarrelling”. When the store decided not to open after all, people were sent home. Swatch stores in Amsterdam and

Utrecht also kept their doors closed. It is not clear when the stores will reopen. On its website, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands announced “that the introduction of Swatch in collaboration with Audemars Piguet will NOT go ahead. The store will remain closed this weekend”. In New York, the opening of the Swatch store in Times Square was met with “pushing and shoving” in the waiting crowd, John McIntosh, who had been in line since Wednesday, told AFP. “It was like a mosh pit,” the 44-year-old said. “People who got here last night have gone to the front, people who cut this morning, whoever cheats and pushes the hardest hits to front.” Like many others, McIntosh hoped to get his hands on the brightly coloured watch – sold in store for US$400 to US$420 to resell it immediately at a huge mark-up. Another buyer, who gave his name as Mac, said he had managed to get his hands on one after five days of queueing. “It was pretty hectic... it’s nasty, but I was able to get in,” he told AFP. “Retail for them is about US$400, I sold one just now for US$4000.” Dressed in a grey suit and shades, Benny, 30, decided to pay rather than wait, shelling out US$2,400 for one of the watches.

Pedestrians look at displayed watches through a glass window on the facade of a closed Swatch shop in Paris on Saturday. – AFPPIC

“It’s basically US$2,000 over retail, but you can’t get an AP (Audemars Piguet) for less than US$2,000, so I think it was a steal,” he said.

“I’d rather pay a premium and come out and get it.” Swatch was forced to close its stores in London and six other UK

cities for “safety considerations” after huge crowds gathered outside. Contacted by AFP, Swatch declined to comment. – AFP