Only 7 of 19 Russian IPOs Profitable as Investors Face Massive Losses

Only seven out of the 19 companies that went public in Russia over the last two years have managed to stay above their initial offering price, according to a review by the Central Bank, The Moscow Times reported on March 26, 2026.

Despite intense pressure from the Kremlin for businesses to list on the exchange, the Central Bank’s latest review reveals a grim landscape for investors. High interest rates and initially overvalued companies have led to a scenario where most deals turn into immediate losses.

In 2025 alone, IPO  stocks dropped an average of 5.2% on their first day and 8.7 percent within a month. While some bounce back after three months, the overall MIPO index , which tracks recent listings, has plummeted further and with more volatility than the general Moscow Exchange index.

The Russian public market remains tiny and increasingly isolated. The median IPO size sits at a meager 2.5 billion rubles ($30.7 million). For those who listed in 2024, the situation is even more catastrophic: 10 out of 15 stocks are in the red, with some investors losing up to 66% of their initial capital, according to The Moscow Times.

Retail investors, once the backbone of the domestic market, are fleeing. The number of citizens participating in offerings dropped 4.5 times in 2025 compared to the previous year. While the government successfully pushed the state-owned Dom.RF to a large IPO in November—which has seen a 25% price increase—it remains a rare exception in a sea of underperformers.

The Moscow Times wrote that in May 2024, Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered the government to double the ratio of stock market capitalization to GDP within six years. Instead, that figure has slid from 33% to 23%. Central Bank Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin admitted that the task is currently unfeasible through organic growth alone.

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Business

After Blowing Through Its Deficit Target, Russia Further Cannibalizes the Economy to Fund the War

Mar 17, 2026 12:44

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov continues to urge businessmen to pivot from expensive bank loans to the stock market, but with 12 out of 19 companies leaving investors underwater, the appetite for new listings is at an all-time low. Russia now accounts for a meager 0.3 percent of global IPO funds, trailing far behind leaders like India and the United States.

The failure of the Russian IPO market to attract and retain investors is a direct consequence of the broader economic strain caused by the ongoing war. Earlier in 2026, reports indicated that the Russian federal budget deficit reached 22.3 billion dollars in January alone, accounting for nearly half of the annual target.

This massive fiscal gap has forced the Kremlin to pivot toward domestic capital markets, but the lack of organic growth and the cannibalization of the civilian economy have left retail investors wary. The shrinking ratio of market capitalization to GDP from 33 percent to 23 percent mirrors the general decline in business confidence as the state prioritizes military spending over market stability.

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