Zerodha's Nithin Kamath on IPO boom amid market fall: IPOs are a full-on party

As the broader stock market struggles, IPOs are having a strong run. Zerodha's Nithin Kamath says the primary and secondary markets are showing a rare divergence.Nithin Kamath says that a fully digital onboarding process could remove one of the biggest hurdles faced by NRI investors.New Delhi,Oct 8, 2026 12:48 ISTThe broader stock market may be facing pressure, but the IPO market is telling a very different story. Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath has pointed out the sharp gap between the performance of newly listed shares and the wider market.According to data shared by Kamath, a majority of mainboard IPOs launched over the past year were trading above their issue prices as of October 6.'IPOs ARE A FULL-ON PARTY'Kamath highlighted the unusual contrast between the primary and secondary markets in a post on X.“The only bullish corner of the market right now is IPOs. The broader market has been steadily falling. The numbers may not fully show it, but it certainly feels like a bear market. IPOs, on the other hand, are a full-on party,” he said. He pointed to the strong performance of recent listings and the rush of activity in the IPO market.“Most recent listings have done well, and you can see it in the rush of activity. I don't remember the last time we saw such a stark divergence between the primary and secondary markets. Strange are the times we live in,” Kamath added.According to the data, of the 125 mainboard IPOs listed between October 2025 and September 2026, 67.2% were trading above their issue prices as of October 6. The group recorded a median return of 24.7%.The gains were spread across different levels. Around 17.6% of the IPOs were trading 0-25% above their issue prices, while 18.4% had gained between 25% and 50%.Another 17.6% of the newly listed stocks were up between 50% and 100%. As many as 13.6% had more than doubled from their issue prices.This means investors who got into several of these IPOs at the time of listing have, so far, seen strong gains compared with the broader market.The latest numbers also show a significant improvement compared with the previous one-year cohort.Among the 95 mainboard IPOs listed between October 2024 and September 2025, only 47.4% were trading above their issue prices. The median return for this group was negative 9.4%.The performance was stronger for the October 2023 to September 2024 cohort, which had 88 IPOs. Around 54.5% of these stocks were trading above their issue prices, while the median return stood at 8.6%.Compared with these earlier cohorts, the latest group has delivered a much stronger median return and a higher share of stocks trading above their issue prices.PRIMARY MARKET BUCKS BROADER TRENDThe data points to an unusual trend in the Indian equity market. While the broader market has been under pressure, recent IPOs have continued to attract investor interest and, in many cases, delivered gains after listing.The sharp difference between newly listed stocks and the broader market has also raised questions about how long the current IPO momentum can continue, particularly if overall market sentiment remains weak.For now, however, the primary market appears to be holding up much better than the secondary market, making IPOs one of the few bright spots for investors.- Ends