SEA 2026 IPO market: Powered by profitability

Southeast Asia’s IPO landscape is poised for a resurgence, with approximately 150 -170 new listings across sectors anticipated in 2026, marking a compelling rebound from recent trends. ​

For the digital/ startup ecosystem as well, we now see more IPO ready companies in the region. A critical driver of the same is the visible shift towards profitability; our analysis shows nearly 53% of Redseer SEA IPO index companies in 2024 are now net profitable, doubling from 2023. Even in terms of revenue growth, 90% companies are on a positive trajectory with revenues growing Y-O-Y strongly.​

This is further underpinned by the region’s resilient consumer fundamentals and proactive steps taken by regulators. ​

2026 can be the year where we see IPO ready candidates sitting on the fence finally take the plunge! ​

93% of the companies in the Redseer index¹ have shown Y-O-Y revenue growth​

The broad-based revenue uptick suggests that digital players are entering a phase where scale is being matched with commercial discipline, narrowing the gap between growth and profitability expectations. Investors can interpret this trend as an early indicator that the sector is moving past volatility and into a more predictable performance cycle. With fewer companies reporting contraction, the risk profile of the category is improving.​

At the same time, the profitability has jumped 2x; a clear signal that these companies are entering IPO-ready territory​ ​

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More notably, with nearly 53% of the companies being net profitable in 2024, up from just 25% in 2023 and 18% in 2021-22, this demonstrates the growing sustainability of the internet ecosystem and suggests that a wave of fundamentally sound IPOs could be on the horizon.​

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Within the index, fintech and Indonesia lead the pack with standout profitability, highlighting where the earliest IPO-ready candidates could sit​

In 2024, ~83% of the fintech names in the Redseer IPO index were showing some levels of profitability vs just 63% for non-Fintech sectors. In terms of countries, Indonesia has done well in managing unit economic profile, with almost 91% of the companies demonstrating profitability vs just 65% in Singapore and 75% in other SEA countries. Our forecasts suggest this drive towards profitability to further continue in 2025.

Like the Redseer index companies, their listed peers are showing profitability momentum, thus a secular trend across stages of the digital sector​

Leading regional platforms are demonstrating improved operating performance, a shift that strengthens sentiment around digital assets. This, in turn, should eventually bring in more positivity in the startup ecosystem, encouraging other players to eye listing.​

Overall, SEA’s muted IPO cycle is turning. Further, exchange interventions are rebuilding confidence and the 2026 pipeline across traditional and digital sectors ​

SEA saw 115 listings in 2025 as compared to 136 in 2024. While the number of IPOs in 2025 was down vs 2024, the proceeds raised were around US$5.6 billion in the first 10.5 months of 2025, up 53% from last year’s proceeds, even though the number of listings declined. Within the region, Malaysia stands as the most robust listing destination. Stock exchanges across the region are taking steps to increase the listings on their respective exchanges.