Shares of medical-supplies manufacturer Medline Industries surged more than 30% in their Nasdaq debut Wednesday, delivering the largest initial public offering of 2025 and reinforcing renewed optimism about the U.S. IPO market heading into 2026. The stock opened at $35, up from its $29 offering price, giving the company a market capitalization of at least $37 billion based on shares outstanding disclosed in regulatory filings.
Medline sold just over 216 million shares in an upsized deal that raised $6.26 billion, making it the biggest U.S. listing since Rivian Automotive's $13.7 billion IPO in November 2021, according to data compiled by CNBC. The offering was also among the largest private-equity-backed IPOs on record.
"Historically, we've done very little advertising, very little marketing, and this gives us a way to amplify our voice and actually expand really the receptivity of who we are," Medline Chief Executive Jim Boyle said earlier Wednesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We are the largest company you've never heard of, and we happen to be everywhere. And that's a really interesting thing."
Founded in 1966 and based in Northfield, Ill., Medline manufactures and distributes roughly 335,000 medical and surgical products, including gloves, masks, scalpels and wheelchairs. The company serves customers in more than 100 countries and employed more than 43,000 people globally as of the end of 2024.
Financial disclosures show Medline generated $25.5 billion in net sales in 2024. As of late September 2025, the company carried approximately $16.8 billion in total debt, a legacy of the highly leveraged 2021 buyout by Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman, which valued the company at roughly $34 billion at the time-the largest leveraged buyout since the global financial crisis.
The IPO arrives after a year marked by significant volatility in U.S. equity markets, driven by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff measures and the longest U.S. government shutdown in history earlier in the year. Despite those disruptions, more than 200 IPOs priced in 2025, signaling resilience in the primary markets.
Medline had initially explored going public earlier this year but delayed plans amid uncertainty surrounding tariffs on goods imported from Asia. A significant portion of the company's products are sourced or manufactured in Asian countries, particularly China. Medline has warned that tariffs could reduce income before taxes by $150 million to $200 million in fiscal 2026.
