Which company’s 2014 listing created the largest IPO ever recorded at that time?

Alibaba Group’s 2014 listing created the largest initial public offering ever recorded at that time.

Alibaba began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014 under the symbol BABA. The offering raised about $21.8 billion, and the underwriters’ overallotment option later lifted the total to approximately $25 billion.

The Chinese company operates major commerce platforms, including Taobao and Tmall, and also has businesses in cloud computing, logistics, digital media and local services. Its scale made the IPO one of the most closely watched technology listings of the decade.

Alibaba’s IPO record was later surpassed by Saudi Aramco in 2019. The distinction between an IPO’s money raised and a company’s market capitalization matters: the former concerns newly sold shares, while the latter values all outstanding shares at the trading price.