India’s primary market has raised a whopping Rs 1.85 lakh crore from 109 IPOs since last January. The combined amount raised by the top 10 biggest IPOs in the last 1 year exceeds Rs 89,000 crore, contributing significantly to the estimated Rs 1.85 lakh crore total pipeline.
This signals that investor appetite continues to be robust and the corporate fundraising momentum is also steady. However, this is not broad-based. If we analyse the data closely, IPOs that raised Rs 1,000 crore or more indicate extreme divergence. On the one side, there are examples of sharp wealth creation, and in some cases, we see significant value erosion.
“Looking at historical data, large IPOs have generally underperformed, both upon listing and subsequently, said Pranav Haldea, Managing Director of Prime Database Group”, said Pranav Haldea, Managing Director of Prime Database Group.
“In my view, it is not about large or small size (IPO). We just need to look at 2025 data to see that several large IPOs gave good returns. Large or small, ultimately an IPO is about 2 things: quality of the company and valuation,” he added.
As per the data from Prime Database, large IPOs are no longer the relatively ‘safe bets’ they once used to be. Instead, the story is now about high-risk, high-reward propositions.
IPOs in last 1 year: Extreme divergence in returns
Let’s first look at the big IPOs in the last one year that have given significant returns since listing.
- Aditya Infotech: +133%
- Ather Energy: +120%
- Belrise Industries: +107%
On the other end sit deep laggards:
- Oswal Pumps: –45.7%
- Vikram Solar: –30.4%
- Orkla India: –25.1%
- Ajax Engineering: –24.1%
- Hexaware Technologies: –20.7%
This type of variation within the same IPO size category indicates a divided market. Investors are recognising strong performance in some while penalising even minor disappointments in others.
The ‘Wealth Destruction’ risks: Muted and negative returns
Several high-profile IPOs in the last 1 year have been trading near or below their offer price, failing to deliver significant wealth for investors. Look at this, despite raising over Rs 15,000 crore, Tata Capital delivered a relatively muted return of 8.37% over several months, while HDB Financial Services and Hexaware Technologies destroyed shareholders’ value by over 20%.
| Company | Issue Size (Rs Cr) | Offer Price (Rs) | Market Price (13.Feb.2026) | Gain/Loss (%) |
| Hexaware Technologies | 8,750 | 708 | 560.95 | -20.77% |
| JSW Cement | 3,600 | 147 | 119.50 | -18.71% |
| Aegis Vopak Terminals | 2,800 | 235 | 214.25 | -8.83% |
| HDB Financial Services | 12,500 | 740 | 708.00 | -4.32% |
| Tata Capital | 15,511.87 | 326 | 353.30 | +8.37% |
| Schloss Bangalore | 3,500.00 | 435 | 445.40 | +2.39% |
Conclusion
All in all, size alone is no longer a cushion. India’s IPO engine remains strong, keeping fundraising momentum intact. The Prime database analysis indicates that investor appetite continues, but large IPOs are not wealth generators every time. They are selective bets. So, due diligence matters more than deal size.