Left chart:
Donut chart showing that as of December 2023, 99.9% of companies are private companies (around 6,300,000), while only 0.1% are publicly listed (around 4,300).
Right chart:
Line chart showing the number of publicly listed firms on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ from 1980 to December 2023. The number of listed firms has dropped 47% since its 1996 high of 8,090 listed firms.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, World Federation of Exchanges, and Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Data from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2023. NYSE = New York Stock Exchange. ~ = approximately. NASDAQ = National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations.
Alternative investments, such as private equity funds, are not appropriate for all investors and are only open to “accredited” or “qualified” investors within the meaning of the U.S. securities laws. They are speculative and entail significant risks that are appropriate only for those investors who have the financial sophistication and expertise to evaluate the merits and risks of an investment in a fund and for which the fund does not represent a complete investment program.
Key Takeaways
- The majority of companies remain private, which inherently offers Private Equity strategies a robust opportunity set.
- The delist rate since 2000 is due to an unusually high rate of acquisitions of publicly listed firms.