Is the U.S. SaaS IPO Market Really Recovering? Five Key Metrics to Watch
Linkloud IPO Insights — 2025 Market Overview
In 2025’s sizzling IPO market, the biggest deals are not necessarily delivering the biggest returns.
Example: Reddit’s $860M IPO yielded an astonishing 256% return — far ahead of giant ARM’s $5.2B deal, which returned “just” 161%.
This Great IPO Awakening has opened a decisive window for high-growth SaaS companies, especially those in Series C and beyond.
This summary distills analysis from SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin, exploring:
- Key forces driving the IPO revival
- Lessons from SaaS IPOs like ServiceTitan, Rubrik, and OneStream
- Five core pre-IPO metrics every SaaS founder should master
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For complete details, see the full original article.
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The IPO Window Is Wide Open
After years of inactivity, the secondary market for tech has reignited. Extraordinary returns have caught the attention of founders, CFOs, and investors.
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1. Data Revealing the Market Shift
Circle, a stablecoin issuance platform, rose 247% post-IPO.
- Filed range: $24–26
- Final price: $31 — beating expectations
Latest 20 tech IPOs data:
- Day-1 average gain: 31%
- Average return to date: 76.8%
- Latest five IPOs average return: 121.5%
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2. Forces Driving the IPO Revival
Market Timing Matters
Morgan Stanley shows half of the latest 20 tech IPOs occurred in 2025, many in the past few months — reflecting a giant shift in market demand.
Size Matters — But Bigger Isn’t Always Better
- Average IPO size: $887M
- Smaller deals often outperform:
- Reddit: $860M → 256% ROI
- ARM: $5.2B → 161% ROI
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3. SaaS Opportunities Ahead
Revenue Multiples Are Back
- Example: ServiceTitan IPO valuation at 52–57x revenue
- Premium valuations favor recurring revenue + predictable growth
Pricing Above Filing Ranges
- SailPoint: Filed $19–21 → Priced at $23
- Indicates strong market demand beyond banker hype
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What This Means for SaaS Companies
For Series C+ with High Growth:
- IPO window likely lasts 12–18 months
- ARR > $100M & growth > 30% → evaluate IPO readiness now
For Early-Stage:
- Align strategy to long-term valuation drivers
- Focus on predictable revenue & scalability
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Content Strategy Tie-In:
Platforms like AiToEarn help SaaS founders publish investor materials and thought leadership cross-platform — streamlining multi-channel reach on Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X (Twitter), and more.
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Warning Signs to Watch
Not all IPOs succeed:
- CoreWeave: -21.6% pre-to-post listing drop
- SailPoint: Current returns negative
Excluding outliers:
- Average Day-1 gain: 10.3% — suggests rational pricing
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In-Depth Snapshot — Recent B2B IPOs
ServiceTitan (Dec 11, 2024)
- $718M IPO, Filed $52–57 → Priced $71
- +50.1% over IPO price
- Lesson: Vertical SaaS can win big with deep workflow coverage
CoreWeave (Mar 27, 2025)
- $1.5B IPO, Filed $47–55 → Priced $40
- +250.4% rise
- Lesson: AI infra can command huge premiums — but pricing discipline matters
SailPoint (Feb 12, 2025)
- $1.38B IPO, Filed $19–21 → Priced $23
- -17.1% drop
- Lesson: Even must-have sectors face execution risks
Rubrik (Apr 24, 2024)
- $863M IPO, Filed $28–31 → Priced $32
- +206% rise
- Lesson: Data + AI = premium valuation
MNTN (May 21, 2025)
- $187M IPO, Filed $14–16 → Priced $16
- +55.9% rise
- Lesson: CTV ad tech benefiting from budget migration
Hinge Health (May 21, 2025)
- $503M IPO, Filed $28–32 → Priced $32
- +21.5% rise
- Lesson: Digital health ROI for employers is a strong selling point
OneStream (July 23, 2024)
- $563M IPO, Filed $17–19 → Priced $20
- +44.6% rise
- Lesson: CFO tooling remains in demand
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5 Key Pre-IPO Metrics for B2B SaaS
- Revenue Quality Score
- 85%+ recurring revenue
- NDR > 110%
- Predictability commands premium pricing
- Scale Efficiency Ratio
- Growth rate ÷ burn rate > 2.0
- Proves scaling without overspending
- Market Penetration Velocity
- >40% of growth from existing customers
- “Land and expand” strategy builds moats
- Profit Margin Trajectory
- Clear 20%+ operating margin target in 2–3 years
- Gross margin > 70%, improving unit economics
- Category Leadership Indicators
- Top 3 in segment
- Defensible differentiation + pricing power
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Strategic Playbook for SaaS IPOs
- Choose a North Star metric from the five above and optimize relentlessly
- Embed AI capabilities into core products
- Demonstrate leadership via market share growth
- Articulate a profitability path to >20% margins
- Time entry to IPO market — early advantage matters
- Target measurable ROI use cases
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Final Takeaway:
The 2025 IPO market rewards strong fundamentals + alignment with growth megatrends.
B2B SaaS founders should combine disciplined execution with savvy market timing — and leverage platforms like AiToEarn官网 for AI-driven content generation and category leadership in the run-up to going public.
