Energy IPO hopefuls opt for waiting

Energy IPO hopefuls opt for waiting

Fervo's stock has plunged nearly 70% from its first-day close, casting a shadow over other energy IPO hopefuls.

Why it matters: After a blockbuster year for energy listings, the IPO window has narrowed.

Zoom in: Onsite power generation company Mainspring Energy opted for a $242 million Series G round this week — bringing its private funding to over $1 billion — despite having previously hired Goldman Sachs to consider an IPO.

  • Nuclear reactor developer The Nuclear Company decided against a 2026 IPO, Axios Pro reported on Wednesday.
  • Nuclear power engineering firm Holtec shelved its listing — once expected to be one of the largest energy IPOs of 2026 — citing "market conditions" and AI industry volatility.
  • SB Energy, which is building powered data centers for AI companies, has seen its IPO ambitions tempered as it struggles to get the sky-high valuation it was hoping for.

    • The big picture: Companies are delaying in an effort to generate more revenue and hit positive margins.

  • High interest rates are an additional drag on capital-intensive energy firms, and odds of a quarter-point Fed rate hike topped 35% Wednesday after hotter-than-expected inflation data.
  • "Rising interest rates always make it harder to build infrastructure. So hopefully, those don't continue to rise," Mainspring Energy president Shannon Miller tells Axios Pro, declining to comment on IPO plans.

    • Meanwhile: All eyes are on public listing timelines for Anthropic and OpenAI — both major customers of data center and power developers.

  • Anthropic reportedly is meeting with investors today for an IPO as early as mid-November, while OpenAI has said 2027 is now the target.
  • Most candidates try to get trading before the Thanksgiving holiday in order to make it in the calendar year.

    • The bottom line: Better luck next year.