Where Did the IPOs Go?

While the larger economy continued to gain traction, this past year was a surprisingly slow one in the IPO market. Initial public offerings in 2016 were at their lowest level since 2009, and proceeds from those IPOs were at their lowest total since 2003, according to data from research firm Renaissance Capital.

Only 105 companies went public in 2016, down from 170 in 2015, and 275 in 2014. The proceeds from these deals fell to only $18.8 billion; that's the lowest for this figure since IPOs raised $15.2 billion in 2003.

One bright spot: The median deal size this year was $95 million, up slightly from $94 million last year. But that's still down from $100 million in 2014.