What is the Difference Between IPO and FPO? | Espresso

Know the differences between IPO VS FPO

IPO and FPO are two ways through which large companies raise finances using the equity market. When a company issues its shares for the first time in the stock market, it is called an Initial Public Offering or IPO. On the other hand, if a listed company issues shares for the subsequent time, it is referred to as a Follow-on Public Offering or FPO.

Published on 14 July 2022

If you’re looking to invest in the stock market, it is crucial to have a basic understanding of these two concepts. This article will tell you in detail about an IPO and FPO.

We will also tell you about the basic differences between an IPO vs FPO. Let’s get started.

What is an IPO?

As mentioned, IPO stands for Initial Public Offering. When a company issues its shares for the first time for public investors, it is known as an IPO. An IPO helps the company to get listed on the stock exchanges and become a publicly-traded firm from a privately owned company.

What is an FPO?

FPO stands for Follow-on Public Offering. When a company already listed on the stock exchanges issues a subsequent lot of shares for investors, it is known as an FPO. An FPO helps a company to diversify its equity base.

There are two types of FPOs – dilutive FPOs and non-dilutive FPOs.

Difference Between IPO vs FPO

Now that we have learned the definitions of IPO and FPO, let’s know the differences between an IPO vs FPO based on various parameters:

Particulars

IPO

FPO

Basic definition

An IPO refers to the first public issue of shares of a company that is going public.

An FPO is the subsequent issue of shares of a company already listed on the stock exchanges.

Issuing company

IPOs are issued by private companies looking to go public.

FPOs are issued by companies already listed on the stock exchanges.

 Objective

The primary objective of an IPO is to raise fresh capital from public investors. After an IPO, the company continues to grow and may feel the need for more funds for its expansion.

The objective of an FPO is to dilute the company’s ownership further and allow the inflow of subsequent public investment.

Performance

An IPO is riskier than FPO. No past performance record of a company is available for the investors. They usually go by the financials of the company and make assumptions about its growth prospects before investing in an IPO.

In the case of an FPO, investors are aware of the company’s past performance on the stock market as it is already listed on the stock exchanges. Investors can study the track record of the issuer company’s stocks and decide whether to invest in its FPO or not.

 

Profitability

IPOs are riskier than FPOs; they have the potential to provide more profits to investors. It’s because IPOs of companies with favourable growth outlooks experience good price appreciation after their listing. Many investors invest in IPOs only to get listing gains.

FPOs take more time to grow as compared to IPOs. However, this theory doesn’t hold for all IPOs and FPOs. Hence, as an investor, you should consider various factors before investing in either of the public offerings.

Conclusion

The basic difference between an IPO vs FPO is that an IPO refers to the first or initial sale of a company’s shares to the general public, whereas an FPO is the sale of additional or subsequent shares by an already listed company.

While there is no guarantee of how an IPO would perform in the future, the issuing company’s financial track record and growth prospects can give you a fair idea of whether you should invest in its IPO or not. On the other hand, you will have a lot more information to analyse the performance of an FPO and make a well-informed decision.

Chandresh Khona
Team Espresso

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