SchusterWatch #843 (5/25/2026)
Big Surge: IPOX® Indexes soar to close at or near historical Highs.
Mark Your Calendar: IPOX® set to ring NYSE opening bell Thursday, May 28.
±>20% Movers: CRDO US, ASTS US, ARM US, 3986 HK, TPRO IM, FUTU US.
IPOs: Lincoln Intl’ debuts, SpaceX files, H.K. leads deal flow this week.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: IPOX® Founder and CEO, J. Schuster, is set to ring the NYSE opening bell on Thursday, May 28, at 9:30 a.m. ET, on the occasion of the listing anniversary of the pioneering First Trust U.S. Equity Opportunities ETF (Ticker: FPX), which follows our IPOX® 100 U.S. Index (IPXO).
WEEKLY OVERVIEW: Investors stepped in and bought the dip in global equities early last week, as positive post-earnings momentum and historic strength across semiconductor and space-related stocks more than offset the negative impact of still-higher U.S. interest rates. Meanwhile, equity risk fell to a multi-month low (VIX: -9.39%) ahead of the long U.S. holiday weekend.
UNITED STATES: The IPOX® 100 U.S. Index (IPXO), the underlying index for the First Trust U.S. Equity Opportunities ETF (Ticker: FPX), rallied +1.97% to +15.23% YTD, reaching a fresh weekly all-time high and standing +109 bps ahead of the S&P 500 (SPX), the benchmark for U.S. stocks. Portfolio holdings rose 64%, with the average equally weighted stock adding +1.18% and the median stock adding +1.13%, underperforming the IPOX® 100 U.S. Index (IPXO). AI momentum propelled connectivity solutions provider Credo (CRDO US: +26.86%), while fear of missing out on SpaceX benefited publicly traded proxy and IPOX® heavyweight AST SpaceMobile (ASTS US: +26.52%). Social media play Reddit (RDDT US) fell to -38.37% YTD, highlighting the highly dispersed return distribution among recent new listings in the current historic bull market.
INTERNATIONAL: The IPOX® International Index (IPXI), tracked by the First Trust International Equity Opportunities ETF (Ticker: FPXI), remained one of the most efficient solutions for tracking the most dynamic international firms benefiting from the AI revolution. The portfolio soared +6.05% to +23.47% YTD, extending its YTD lead over the international market to +1,763 bps. Huge gains in best-in-class companies linked to AI drove the jump, including Britain’s ARM (ARM US: +46.54%), China’s GigaDevice (3686 HK: +43.01%), Taiwan’s Yageo (2327 TT: +38.09%), Japan’s Kioxia (285A: +29.13%), China’s Knowledge Atlas (2513 HK: +23.27%), and Italy’s Technoprobe (TPRO IM: +22.70%). China’s fintech company Futu (FUTU US: -33.33%) plunged toward the weekend as regulators reiterated their crackdown on what they deem illegal cross-border trading businesses.
THE IPOX® SPAC: Last week, the Index surged +4.59% to +24.89%. YTD. Best performer quantum computing firm D-Wave Quantum (QBTS US: +44.47%) jumped following an endorsement around quantum technology from the U.S. government. Worst performer Webull (BULL US: -12.46%) fell on weaker earnings. No SPACs announced merger targets last week. Flavored shisha molasses firm AIR Global (AIIR US) completed its merger with Cantor Equity Partners III. The week also saw 7 new SPAC IPOs in the U.S.
ECM REVIEW: 26 firms went public last week, raising $2.3 billion. New listings rose an average of +102.69% from offer price to Friday’s close (Median: +23.58%). Chicago-based investment bank Lincoln International (LCLN US: +19.75%) ranked on top, raising $484 million. CNC milling firm Top Numerical Control (7688 HK: +47.71%, $220 million), self-driving tech firm UISEE Tech (1511 HK: -2.16%, $111 million), robotics maker Robotphoenix (6871 HK: +5.57%, $96 million) and bacterial infection biotech TenNor Therapeutics (6872 HK: +178.73%, $86 million) went public in Hong Kong. Australia-listed piercing specialist Skinkandy (SK1 AU: +9.09%, $116 million) also debuted.
Amid the shortened U.S. and European trading week, activity is set to be focused on H.K. with consumer play 3D printer maker Creality 3D (3388 HK, $176 million), display tech Viewtrix Technology (3310 HK, $140 million), smart home hardware firm SDMC Technology (901 HK, $80 million) and AI-driven enterprise marketing provider DeepZero Technology (2723 HK, $64 million) lined up.
In the Media, IPOX® Founder J. Schuster was quoted by CNBC, cautioning on low-float IPOs tied such as SpaceX, calling anything below 7% “a big red flag”. In coverage by Reuters, IPOX® Associate Lukas Muehlbauer highlighted demand around AI infrastructure, energy, defense, industrials and biotech in the context of SpaceX and broader listing trends. In Reuters/New York Post coverage, IPOX® VP Kat Liu noted concurrent filings by OpenAI and SpaceX could prompt portfolio managers to evaluate both companies side by side.
