Before you even begin reading this article you might already be thinking about the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
And I don’t blame you.
It shook the world, and very much disrupted financial markets across the globe.
It’s why less than 50 companies went public.
Regardless of the economic environment in 2008 in this article I’m going to share major world events that impacted the stock markets, which companies went public, and how they’re performing today.
Major world events that happened in 2008 that affected the stock markets
Global Financial Crisis: In 2008 the global financial crisis was in full swing after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September. The crisis led to a severe economic downturn and impacted financial markets across the globe.
Beijing Olympics: China hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, showcasing its economic and technological advancements to the world. As with most Olympics, the event garnered international attention and brought about infrastructural developments in the host city.
Four notable companies that went public in 2008
1. Rackspace Technology
- Country: United States of America
- Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
- Industry: Software—Infrastructure
- IPO Price: $21
- IPO Date: August 8, 2008
Rackspace Technology provides cloud computing, managed hosting, and other IT services. They service businesses of all sizes including enterprises and government organizations. Their value is in their ability to help customers reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve their overall IT performance.
2. Rosetta Stone Inc. (Acquired by IXL Learning)
- Country: United States of America
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
- Industry: Software Development
- IPO Price: $18
- IPO Date: April 16, 2009
Rosetta Stone is a leading provider of language learning solutions.
They offer a range of digital products and services designed to help people learn new languages quickly and effectively. Whilst their landscape is competitive with apps such as Duo Lingo becoming popular they’ve still managed to perform well. They were acquired by IXL Learning on March 17, 2021.
3. Visa Inc.
- Country: United States of America
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
- Industry: Credit Services
- IPO Price: $44
- IPO Date: March 18, 2008
Visa is a leading global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments to fast, secure, and reliable electronic payments. Most people still view Visa as a credit card company, however, they provide the infrastructure that credit card providers leverage.
4. ASOS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Stock Exchange: London Stock Exchange (LSE)
- Industry: Internet Retail
- IPO Price: £23.50
- IPO Date: August 29, 2008
ASOS is a popular online fashion and beauty retailer. I’ve purchased many outfits from the company over the years and I’m impressed with their range of options. They host over 85,000 branded and own-label products across womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewelry, and beauty.
The 36 companies that had their Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2008
| Company name | Year founded | Ticker | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Capital Agency Corp | -99 | AGNC | Active |
| American Water Works Co Inc | 1886 | AWK | Active |
| ArcSight Inc | 2000 | ARST | Acquired by HP. |
| Asia Time Corporation | -99 | TYM | Unknown |
| ATA Inc | 1999 | ATA | Active |
| Bioheart Inc | 1999 | BHRT | Inactive |
| Blackrock Def Opp Cred Tr | -99 | BHL | Active |
| Britannia Bulk Holdings | 1999 | DWT | Inactive |
| CardioNet Inc | 1994 | BEAT | Acquired by BioTelemetry |
| Cascal NV | 1989 | HOO | Acquired by SUEZ |
| China Distance Educ Hldgs Ltd | 2000 | DL | Active |
| China Mass Med Int Adv Corp | 2003 | CMM | Active |
| Colfax Corp | 1995 | CFX | Active |
| Energy Recovery Inc | 1992 | ERII | Active |
| Fifth Street Finance Corp | -99 | FSC | Bankrupt |
| Grand Canyon Education | 1949 | LOPE | Active |
| GT Solar International Inc | 1994 | SOLR | Acquired by GT Advanced Technologies Inc. |
| Hatteras Financial Corp | 2007 | HTS | Acquired |
| Healthy Fast Food Inc | -99 | HFFIU | Active |
| Heritage-Crystal Clean Inc | 1999 | HCCI | Active |
| Hong Kong Highpower Tech Inc | 2003 | HPJ | Active |
| Intrepid Potash Inc | 2000 | IPI | Active |
| IPC The Hospitalist Co Inc | 1995 | IPCM | Acquired by TeamHealth |
| MAKO Surgical Corp | 1997 | MAKO | Acquired by Stryker |
| Morgan Stanley Frontier Inc | -99 | FFD | Active |
| Pioneer SW Energy Ptnrs LP | 2007 | PSE | Active |
| Rackspace Hosting Inc | 1998 | RAX | Acquired by Apollo Global Management |
| Real Goods Solar Inc | 1978 | RSOL | Acquired by SunPower. |
| RHI Entertainment Inc. | 1979 | RHIE | Inactive. |
| RiskMetrics Group Inc | 1994 | RMG | Acquired by MSCI Inc. |
| Safe Bulkers Inc | 2007 | SB | Active |
| Verso Paper Corp | 1898 | VRS | Acquired by Pixelle Specialty Solutions. |
| Visa Inc | 1970 | V | Active |
| Western Gas Partners LP | 2007 | WES | Active |
| Whiting USA Trust I | 2007 | WHX | Active |
| Williams Pipeline Partners LP | 1983 | WMZ | Active |
Frequently asked questions
How many IPOs were there in 2008?
There were approximately 36 IPOs in 2008 according to Wikipedia, Crunchbase, Yahoo Finance, Techcrunch, and Jay R. Ritter’s data from UF Warrington College of Business. However, it’s hard to find a complete list of every company that has hit the stock exchange for the first time since the global data is fragmented. Please do your own research to confirm this figure.
Which company that had its IPO in 2008 is currently valued the highest?
As of June 2023, Visa Inc. has a market capitalization of $461B. Of course, this is subject to change and you should check for the latest data.
Which companies that had their IPO in 2008 are now defunct?
Zero company has been classified as “defunct”.
