A Closer Look at the Top IPOs of 2025: CRCL, CRWV

IPO activity post-pandemic has fluctuated significantly, primarily driven by economic uncertainty, rising interest rates, and inflation, all of which have impacted investor sentiment.

But the tide has shifted positively over the past year, with several notable IPOs hitting the market, including CoreWeave CRWV and Circle Internet Group CRCL. The re-awakening of the IPO market is certainly notable, signaling renewed investor confidence and a meaningful shift in broader risk appetites.

Below is a chart illustrating the performance of each over the past month, with the S&P 500 blended in as a benchmark.

In short, CRWV provides exposure to the AI frenzy, CRCL is a play on the mainstreaming of digital dollars and the evolving stablecoin regulatory landscape, and NMAX is a play on broader digital media. But the poor price action is certainly notable over the past month, perhaps a reflection of investors taking profit after initial red-hot runs.

Let’s take a closer glance at each.

CoreWeave & NVIDIA

Given its backing by AI-favorite NVIDIA NVDA, the IPO reflected one of the most exciting we’ve seen in years. An SEC filing in late May 2025 revealed NVIDIA has a $900 million stake, reflecting one of its largest investors.

NVIDIA supplies CoreWeave with most of its high-performance GPUs that power its underlying AI infrastructure. Investors raised flags concerning the massive amount of sales NVIDIA generated from CRWV, but that concern has since evaporated. 

The company’s latest set of quarterly results were driven by accelerating demand for its AI offerings, with sales up a staggering 420% year-over-year. Revenue backlog totaled a strong $25.9 billion, with CRWV also securing more lucrative deals with enterprises.

Up 220% since its debut, CRWV shares have rewarded shareholders handsomely.

CRCL Shares Soar

Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce, and financial applications worldwide. It’s the issuer of USDC, the world’s second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin, widely used across exchanges, DeFi platforms, and institutional trading venues.

But for those unfamiliar with all of those fancy words, what does that even mean? CEO Jeremy Allaire explains simply –

‘If you could take what we think of as money, make it digital and available on the internet, then that would dramatically change the way we use money and open up opportunity around the world. That’s the idea behind Circle.’

Since their debut on June 5^th, shares have gone on a massive run. It’s worth noting that Cathie Wood’s ARK had a big win on the stock, purchasing roughly 4.5 million shares on its first day of trading. Up 135% since its debut, shares have showed notable momentum, holding on to initial gains nicely.

The stock overall reflects a great play on the evolving stablecoin regulatory landscape, which is also just seemingly beginning as we increasingly wade into the digital age.

Bottom Line

Notable IPOs have finally started hitting the tape in 2025, reflecting a meaningful shift in sentiment. Both CRCL and CRWV shares are up big from their initial debuts, though price action over the last month has primarily been sour. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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