美国国家公共电台 NPR--There's been a downturn in the number of companies choosing to go public

There's been a downturn in the number of companies choosing to go public

Transcript¹

Due to high inflation, rising interest rates and economic fears, stock markets are seeing a sharp decline in the number of private companies that want to begin selling stock to the general public.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Blame high inflation, rising interest rates, fears over global instability. Wall Street is reeling from economic uncertainty² right now. And as NPR's David Gura reports, it's dramatically changing how private companies think about going public or selling shares on the stock market.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE³: Wall Street is a window into how investors⁴ view the future of the economy. Lynn Martin is the president of the New York Stock Exchange.

LYNN MARTIN: I view markets as a mirror to the way people are feeling. A lot of times, there's uncertainty, and that winds up getting expressed in markets.

GURA: Anxiety and fear lead to sell-offs. Investors are less confident and less willing to speculate, and that's icing out new companies. There are about 81% fewer stocks newly listed on Martin's exchange in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2021, when interest rates were near zero, and there was a lot of optimism as the U.S. emerged from the darkest days of the pandemic. Rachel Gerring helps companies go public. She's a consultant⁵ with the firm Ernst & Young.

RACHEL GERRING: It was a blockbuster year, by all accounts.

GURA: But in the last six months, the environment has changed radically⁶ as new risks have emerged.

GERRING: Rising interest rates, inflation risk, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions.

GURA: And the stock market reflects all that. To fight inflation, the Fed is slamming on the brakes, trying to slow down the U.S. economy by hiking interest rates. And everyone is waiting to see what happens, including private companies that have thought about going public to raise money. Some companies compensate⁷ employees with stock. And the public gets to buy shares and participate in the future growth of those businesses. Part of Lynn Martin's job at the New York Stock Exchange is to keep in touch with executives who are considering it.

L MARTIN: So the pipeline⁸ is very strong, but it's on pause.

GURA: As interest rates rise, there's less money on the table to invest in new companies. At the Nasdaq, only around a hundred companies have listed this year so far, and the prospects⁹ in the coming months aren't looking great compared to last year, when 753 companies went public on the exchange. Nasdaq's chief commercial officer, Jeff Thomas, says it's another indication of how investors' expectations are different.

JEFF THOMAS: Are investors looking for a growth story, or would they rather see a company that's got some growth but also profitability?

GURA: In other words, how much appetite do they have for taking on risk when there's so much economic uncertainty, when it's hard to predict how these companies will perform and what they'll be worth in the future? That's a dramatic change from last year.

THOMAS: Part of the conversations with executives is getting them to wrap their head around the fact that they likely aren't going to get the same valuation this year that the bankers promised them last year.

GURA: On average, shares of companies that went public in 2021 are trading 42% lower than when they started trading. A handful of other factors are conspiring¹⁰ to make this a tough year. Chinese companies aren't going public in the U.S. because of a regulatory standoff between the two countries. Another thing that's disappeared are SPACs - they were hot last year and in 2020 - a shortcut¹¹ for private companies to go public by pairing up with shell companies already listed on the exchanges. They also attracted less regulatory scrutiny¹².

THOMAS: There was a lot of money in the system last year. Investors were looking for places to put that money. SPACs seemed like a relatively¹³ attractive place to put their money.

GURA: But there's less money sloshing around. And now some 600 SPACs are sitting on the sidelines with no clear prospects. It's another reflection of how different Wall Street looks today than it did just a few months ago.

David Gura, NPR News, New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

7 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

8 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

11 shortcut   

n.近路，捷径

参考例句：

• He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
• If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。

12 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。