Initial public offerings provide companies with the wherewithal to pursue growth opportunities without having to bear the burden of repayment.

What Is an IPO: An IPO is a route adopted by private companies to go public by offering new shares to institutional as well as retail investors. Apart from opening the gateway for huge and relatively lower cost financing, an IPO confers indirect benefits as well. The increased transparency mandated for a public listing helps the company to raise debt at favorable terms.

On the other hand, the company may have to face pushback such as compliance with stricter disclosure norms and yielding to pressure from market participants, who clamor for short-term gains.

2010 – A Bumper IPO Year: The year 2010 was a bumper year for IPOs, as more than twice as many new issues were floated as compared to the previous year. The IPO boom of the year was spearheaded by special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, deals.

What Determines Success of IPOs:  Success of an IPO depends on several factors such as the company delivering on its promise and managing investor expectations with efficient forecasting, according to Ernst & Young. External factors such as competition, geopolitical conditions, macroeconomics and market sentiment also have a big role to play in the post-IPO performance of stocks.

Benzinga tracked some of the high-profile IPOs of 2010 to check on their success or a lack of thereof a decade after their listing. Returns post-IPO were calculated taking into account closing prices on the listing date and Oct. 5, 2021.

Related Link: Tesla's High Stock Price 'Justified,' Analyst Says After Q3 Deliveries Beat

1. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

2. NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI)

3. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)

Business: provider of high-quality sequencing platforms for the life sciences industry
IPO Date: Oct. 27, 2010
No. of shares offered: 12.5 million
Offer price: $16
Gains/Loss: +53%

4. FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT)

Business: payment provider for commercial fleets, major oil companies and petroleum marketers
IPO Date: Dec. 15, 2010
No. of shares offered: 14.58 million
Offer price: $23
Gains/Loss: +858%

5. Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Business: financial service provider for families and a spin-off unit of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C)
IPO Date: April 1, 2010
No. of shares offered: 21.36 million
Offer price: $15
Gains/Loss: +779%

6. KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)

7. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS)

Business: solar panel manufacturer based out of China
IPO Date: May 14, 2010
No. of shares offered: 5.86 million ADSs ( American depositary shares)
Offer price: $11
Gains/Loss: +308%

A $1,000 invested in the Tesla IPO would have fetched 59 shares at the IPO price of $17 apiece. The company has since split its shares once in Aug. 2020 in a 5:1 ratio.

The split, would have multiplied the 59 shares to 295 shares. At Tuesday's closing price of $780.59, the $1,000 investment would have returned $230,274.

NXP, which was unsuccessfully pursued by Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), also clocked in a fairly robust gain of 1,324%.

Related Link: How to Invest In Upcoming IPOs