An IPO Is Not the Finish Line: ASPEED’s Value Creation in the Thirteen Years After Listing

Will it break new ground and make Taiwan stock market history at NT$10,000 per share? ASPEED’s IPO offer price was NT$110. In other words, close to 99% of its value began to be created only after its IPO listing. Companies should understand that an IPO is not the finish line, but a new starting point. The real growth of an excellent issuer unfolds after the IPO. ASPEED issued 2,036,000 common shares at an IPO issue price of NT$110 per share, raising only NT$224 million. Its implied market capitalization at listing was below NT$2.5 billion. Thirteen years later, its market capitalization has reached NT$352 billion. Would Chairman Lin now feel that the NT$110 offer price was unfair or left him worse off? Probably not. He should instead be glad that he chose to list at NT$110, opening the way to a much larger future. Consider an alternative scenario. If ASPEED had insisted that its offer price should be no lower than NT$300 or NT$500, and the IPO had failed as a result, the outcome might have been worse. Do not let immediate small gains trip you up or hold you back. Focus on the long-term vision and move forward quickly. Startups should not pay too much attention to valuation or become captive to valuation thinking. Choose good partners, quickly raise the capital needed for development, and move forward. Believe me: the bigger dreams, goals, and vision begin after listing. I once saw a statistic about the average US-listed company: its pre-IPO valuation represented less than 4% of its current value, while 96% of its market capitalization was created after the IPO. The same applies domestically and internationally. That suggests two lessons for startups: 1. Plan your IPO strategy promptly and advance it effectively, because the real major growth begins after the IPO. 2. You really do not need to worry so much about the valuation in every pre-IPO financing. Finding the right partners often matters more.