Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
After Cambodia-based gold explorer Unity Metals (ASX:UM1) listed on the ASX earlier this month – the first IPO to hit the bourse in CY26 – we’ve since seen a second that was set to list this month, Barkly Rare Earths (ASX:BAK), revert from its Thursday, January 22 listing date to a now-indefinite “TBA” status.
Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.
While the outperformance of metals prices in recent months has likely led to a lot of backdoor enthusiasm – and don’t forget the ASX IPO listing rules were eased last year to make things easier for companies to list, that coming after a very long two-year doldrums for the new company listings department – so far into this new calendar year we’re looking at a fairly dismal picture.
In fact, it feels a lot like late CY23. At the time, I wrote on the then-ongoing ASX IPO drought, and years later, we’re still in a similar situation (despite a pick-up in listings through H2 of CY2025). Talk about Groundhog Day.
True, it’s only three weeks into the new year, and these things take time. This finance journalist can relay that one of HotCopper‘s sources has told us a lot of the stockbrokers have already come back from holidays early, presumably to capitalise on streets lined with silver, so I expect that we will soon see some more proposed ASX company listings filter through in the weeks ahead.
But for investors who love an IPO, right now, pickings are slim. We’re not going to see any new companies this week (Week 4 of CY26, by the way) with Barkly pulling out; that leaves two for February, as at mid-arvo Tuesday’s writing.
On Tuesday, February 3, we get Eastern Gas Corporation − I’m not going to bother explaining what they do − and on Friday, February 6, we get Macallum New Energy, also an oil and gas company. The companies are raising $5.5M and $9M, respectively; so they’re smaller-end-of-town type listings.
So far, no big names coming down under – and with Canva confirming last year it won’t be listing an IPO on the ASX, we’re still left waiting for that unicorn to eventually list on the Nasdaq. After years of delays.
Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on HotCopper, Australia’s largest stock forum, and be part of the conversations that move the markets.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
