Key Takeaways from IPOs listed in 2024 - IPO Stack

Vibhor Steel Tubes at 320× is the most oversubscribed and one of the worst-performing IPOs in twelve years of this tracker. From the year’s most subscribed issue to a 97% loss from the listing price — Vibhor Steel’s trajectory completes the pattern that has now appeared every single year since 2013: extreme oversubscription in small, institutionally undercovered issues reliably predicts long-term value destruction. The evidence across twelve cohorts and hundreds of data points is overwhelming. Yet it repeats — because retail investor behaviour in the frenzied subscription period of small-cap IPOs is driven by listing pop expectation, not business analysis.

The best performers in 2024 were almost all subscribed under 50 times. Jyoti CNC (40.49×, +116%), Bharti Hexacom (29.88×, +107%), Zinka/BlackBuck (1.87×, +100%), Sai Life Sciences (10.27×, +54%), Garuda Construction (7.55×, +56%), Sagility (3.20×, +32%), Aadhar Housing Finance (26.76×, +44%) — every one of the top performers was subscribed in a range that reflects institutional conviction rather than retail frenzy. The contrast with the year’s oversubscribed failures could not be more complete.

The largest IPO in Indian history — Hyundai Motor India at ₹27,870 crore — has delivered just 7% from its listing price. LIC (2022) was the previous holder of the largest IPO record and has lost money from its listing price. Hyundai has made marginally positive gains. The data across this tracker suggests that the largest IPOs in Indian market history are routinely priced to fully reflect near-term value — leaving insufficient margin for early investors to generate meaningful returns.

Consumer internet and new-age technology IPOs continued their losing streak. Swiggy (−29.89%), FirstCry (−66.59%), Ola Electric (−67.37%), and MobiKwik (−58.86%) have all destroyed substantial listing-day value. The 2024 additions to this cohort continue the pattern established by Paytm, Nykaa, Nazara, EaseMyTrip, and Go Fashion from 2021. Across four consecutive years, every major new-age consumer internet IPO on this tracker has produced losses from its listing price. The common thread — business models that require years of capital-intensive investment before generating free cash flow, priced at listing to perfection — continues to define the category.

Two large government energy IPOs — Waaree Energies and NTPC Green Energy — have both disappointed from their listing prices. Waaree listed at ₹2,500 on an issue price of ₹1,503 and is now barely above listing. NTPC Green is 23% below its listing price. Meanwhile, IREDA — the government green energy lender from 2023, subscribed a modest 38 times at ₹32 per share — is up 127% from its listing price. The clean energy sector is real. The question, as always, is the price paid at listing.

KRN Heat Exchanger is 2024’s rare proof that high subscription and high listing premium can coexist with genuine long-term returns — when the business is real. At 213× subscribed and +90% from listing, KRN stands alongside CDSL (2017, 170×, +377%) and MTAR Technologies (2021, 200×, +235%) as one of the handful of genuinely high-subscription IPOs in this tracker’s history that have backed up market enthusiasm with actual earnings growth. The common factor in all three: niche, technically differentiated businesses with monopoly-like or sole-source supplier characteristics in structurally growing sectors.

Healthcare has delivered positive returns for the twelfth consecutive year. Sai Life Sciences (+54.46%) from pharma CRAMS and Go Digit General Insurance (+12.31% — broadly healthcare-adjacent) continue the unbroken record. The 52-week high of ₹1,014.95 for Sai Life Sciences shows it has reached new heights since listing in December 2024. From Lal PathLabs in 2015 through Narayana Hrudayalaya in 2016, KIMS in 2021, Medanta in 2022, Yatharth Hospital in 2023, and Sai Life Sciences in 2024 — the healthcare sector has not produced a single year on this tracker without at least one positive long-term IPO return. No other sector in Indian primary market history has matched this record.

83 issues tracked — a new record. Three editorial flags raised upfront and in dedicated sections:

Top performers since listing:

• 🟢 Jyoti CNC Automation — +116.49% (CNC machine tools — defence & aerospace)
• 🟢 Bharti Hexacom — +106.62% (Airtel subsidiary, telecom duopoly beneficiary)
• 🟢 Zinka/BlackBuck — +100.43% (1.87× subscribed — barely covered at IPO!)
• 🟢 KRN Heat Exchanger — +90.00% (213× subscribed but genuine business)
• 🟢 SRM Contractors — +88.18% (small construction co., niche geography)
• 🟢 JG Chemicals — +66.58% (listed below issue price)
• 🟢 Sai Life Sciences — +54.46% (pharma CRAMS, healthcare’s 12th straight positive year)

Worst performers since listing:

• 🔴 Vibhor Steel Tubes — −97.31% (subscribed 320× — highest EVER on this tracker)
• 🔴 Akme Fintrade — −94.37% (flagged for independent verification)
• 🔴 Ola Electric — −67.37% (India’s first listed EV manufacturer)
• 🔴 FirstCry — −66.59%
• 🔴 Bajaj Housing Finance — −44.00% (listed at 114% premium, gave it all back)
• 🔴 Swiggy — −29.89%
• 🔴 Hyundai Motor India — +7.05% (largest IPO ever, barely positive)