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The 8 Most Wildly Successful IPOs of 2002

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By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published
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The 8 Most Wildly Successful IPOs of 2002

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The year 2002 was one of the slower ones for initial public offerings. There were 75 IPOs, with an average deal amount near $340 million. Some of the most notable IPOs that year included Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX | NFLX Price Prediction), PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN). (Check out the youngest members of the Fortune 500.)

CIT Group raised a whopping $4.6 billion in its IPO that year, though the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and was acquired. (These are the worst bankruptcies in American history.)

The stock market in 2002 was still struggling to find its footing after the dot-com bubble burst and the events of 9/11. Investor confidence was also low due to the debt ceiling crisis. Yet, the S&P 500 and the broader markets ended the year essentially flat.

The following are 2002’s best IPOs, ranked by how well the stocks have performed since then (as of the close on October 30; split-adjusted as indicated*). Note that Overstock.com Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) and PayPal were also positive in that time. JetBlue is trading lower than its IPO price.

Netflix

JasonDoiy / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

  • Company: Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX)
  • Industry: Entertainment
  • IPO date: May 23, 2002
  • IPO price: $15 per share
  • Recent price: $410.08 (+14,772%*)

Dick’s Sporting Goods

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  • Company: Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS)
  • Industry: Specialty Retail
  • IPO date: October 16, 2002
  • IPO price: $12 per share
  • Recent price: $105.26 (+3,275%*)

Synaptics

Aaron Hawkins / E+ via Getty Images

  • Company: Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA)
  • Industry: Semiconductors
  • IPO date: January 29, 2002
  • IPO price: $11 per share
  • Recent price: $81.96 (+1,311%*)

GameStop

GameStop Logo Sign - Vallejo - California by Will Buckner
GameStop Logo Sign - Vallejo - California (CC BY 2.0) by Will Buckner

  • Company: GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME)
  • Industry: Specialty Retail
  • IPO date: February 13, 2002
  • IPO price: $18
  • Recent price: $12.80 (+1,267%*)

Nasdaq

NASDAQ MarketWatch by Ajay Suresh
NASDAQ MarketWatch (CC BY 2.0) by Ajay Suresh

  • Company: Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ)
  • Industry: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges
  • IPO date: July 2, 2002
  • IPO price: $5 per share
  • Recent price: $48.91 (+1,112%)

Wynn Resorts

Alina555 / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

  • Company: Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN)
  • Industry: Resorts & Casinos
  • IPO date: October 25, 2002
  • IPO price: $13 per share
  • Recent price: $88.08 (+739%)

Verint Systems

monsitj / iStock via Getty Images

  • Company: Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT)
  • Industry: Software
  • IPO date: May 16, 2002
  • IPO price: $16 per share
  • Recent price: $18.61 (+465%*)

Seagate Technology

golubovy / Getty Images

  • Company: Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: STX)
  • Industry: Computer Hardware
  • IPO date: December 11, 2002
  • IPO price: $12 per share
  • Recent price: $68.42 (+445%)
Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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