Crazy rush period! Companies flock to the US to go public, just to get a piece of the pie before SpaceX sets a record IPO.

Within just a few weeks, the IPO market in the United States has gone from being deserted to bustling, with multiple companies planning to raise a total of $17.3 billion this month alone, trying to take advantage of the stock market's strong resilience to raise funds. In the coming weeks, as many companies rush to complete their IPOs before the most anticipated market event of the year - Elon Musk's company SpaceX's record-breaking IPO scheduled for June - it is expected that billions of dollars will be raised through IPOs. Bob Doll, CEO of Crossmark Global Investments, said, "If I were any company looking to attract IPO investors, I would likely choose to go public before SpaceX's deal." Given that the situation in Iran may still cause severe market fluctuations and that companies planning to go public need to update their financial statements in late May, many IPO candidates seem to believe that now is the best time to go public. Since the beginning of this month, the US IPO market has raised $5.4 billion, and the profitability brought by newly listed companies has ignited enthusiasm on Wall Street. Compiled data shows that excluding Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) and closed-end funds, the weighted average return of US IPOs listed this year has soared from 4.6% a week ago to 21%, far exceeding the S&P 500 index's 4.2% increase during the same period. To increase the success rate of IPOs, companies have introduced various strategies, including introducing so-called cornerstone investors, reducing the number of shares issued, and offering attractive discounts compared to already listed peers. Dan Klausner, Managing Director of Public Stock Consultancy at Houlihan Lokey Inc., said, "Market pricing is becoming more rational and restrained. And success will set an example - once peers are priced reasonably and perform well after listing, other companies offering moderate discounts will also be more attractive." This week, companies planning to go public are aiming to raise nearly $2 billion in total, with nuclear power company X-Energy, backed by Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US), planning to raise $814 million. If these transactions proceed smoothly, it will continue the busiest month since December last year - when Medline Inc. (MDLN.US) led the way with a financing total of approximately $8.8 billion. Sumit Mukherjee, Head of Equity Capital Markets Intelligence at J.P. Morgan, said, "This week, 4 IPOs are scheduled to be priced, and another 8 companies submitted IPO applications last week. Against the backdrop of a continuously strong stock market, it is expected that the equity capital markets will remain highly active in the short term." Billionaire Bill Ackman's closed-end and hedge funds plan to raise up to $10 billion, with their IPO scheduled for April 28, expected to be a litmus test for the enthusiasm of retail investors. The performance of these IPOs will directly impact the listing process of more than a dozen companies in the queue, including AI chip maker Cerebras Systems (CBRS.US) and Blackstone Inc.'s data center acquisition entity. Both companies are expected to raise at least $2 billion and are likely to drive the US IPO market to remain active for several months in a row before SpaceX's record-breaking listing.