Fintech Clear Street withdraws US IPO filing amid market volatility

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street broker Clear Street has withdrawn its registration statement for a U.S. listing, the company said on Thursday, as heightened bearish sentiments on financial and software stocks now extend to the new listings market.

Last week, Clear Street had delayed its IPO plans, citing "market conditions". This had followed a massive slashing of its targeted raise.

Disruption fears from AI-first offerings have been fueling broad market selloffs, with shares of Wall Street brokerages hit last week after a selloff in software and IT stocks earlier this month.

Several companies have downsized or postponed their U.S. initial public offerings in 2026, as market volatility, valuation scrutiny and weak peer performance weighed on the new listings pipeline.

Last week, Brazilian fintech Agibank downsized its issue size by more than 50% and currently trades below its IPO price.

Blackstone-backed BX.N Liftoff Mobile, which also postponed its IPO plans earlier this month, refiled for a U.S. listing on Tuesday just hours after withdrawing an earlier plan.

The whipsawing nature of listing maneuvers underscores the anxiety gripping capital markets.

While the year started with fears that AI-exuberance was fueling an equities bubble, the nascent technology has since evolved into a disruptive force with entire sectors seeing selloffs sparked by product launches from AI-first startups.

Founded in 2018, Clear Street started as a prime brokerage platform and has since expanded into other businesses, including investment banking.

According to its IPO prospectus, the company expected net revenue to have risen to between $1.04 billion and $1.06 billion in 2025, from $463.6 million a year earlier.

The withdrawal of its listing plan reflects the renewed challenges faced by companies aiming to tap the public markets, after U.S. trade policy and partisan gridlock caused hiccups last year in the long-awaited IPO comeback.