Oura postpones $15bn Nasdaq IPO amid market

Oura has postponed its planned initial public offering on the Nasdaq, citing uncertainty in the IPO market as the reason for the delay. The Finland-founded smart ring maker announced the postponement just days after announcing the IPO plan. Oura pulled its plan to sell shares in its business on the US stock market and did not specify when it might proceed with the IPO. The company said it postponed listing on the Nasdaq despite strong demand but did not provide a date for when it intends to IPO.

IPO details and valuation context

The postponed IPO had aimed to value Oura at $15bn through a share price range of $40-$44, targeting up to $2.2bn in proceeds. Oura had filed official documents setting out plans to raise up to $2.2bn by offering shares in the business to investors just over a week ago. The implied market value from the $40-$44 share price range was $15bn.

Broader market trend of IPO delays

Oura joins other firms in delaying listings, with experts citing a deteriorating IPO environment driven by macroeconomic pressures. Earlier this month, US nuclear technology firm Holtec International also postponed its flotation. Holtec blamed an 'unusual confluence of developments that has impaired investor confidence in the market for new public offerings,' citing rising energy costs, military conflicts, global trade tensions and concerns about inflation. These factors have led to central banks including the US Federal Reserve raising benchmark interest rates. This week, the yield on US debt repayable in 10 years' time hit the highest level since 2007. Samuel Kerr, global head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket, said: 'What is now clear is we are in a very different IPO market to the one we envisaged just a few weeks ago.'

Oura's business and recent performance

Despite the IPO delay, Oura highlights strong financial growth. The company, which has its global headquarters in San Francisco, makes smart rings costing upwards of $300 that monitor heartbeat and sleep patterns, with data analysed and presented on an app. In the previous year, Oura made a pre-tax profit of $6.2m. Its most recent figures for the nine months to 30 June this year show pre-tax income of $70m on sales of $1.2bn. In its last full financial year, ending 30 September 2025, Oura made a pre-tax profit of $23.5m on sales of $907.8m. Oura said its business had 'further strengthened' since it started the IPO process and expects revenues to grow 90 percent in 2026 on the previous year.

Lawsuit unrelated to IPO decision

Oura faces a class action lawsuit over sleep-tracking accuracy claims, but the company states the IPO postponement is not connected to the litigation. The lawsuit, filed by the Clarkson Law Firm in August, accused Oura of false advertising by claiming its rings can accurately track a person's sleep activity and patterns. It claimed: 'Oura rings cannot measure one's sleep or cycles. That's because sleep happens in the brain, not on one's finger.' that Oura's decision to delay an IPO is not connected to the lawsuit. In a statement, a spokesperson for Oura said the company stands behind its science, research and accuracy claims. The spokesperson added that, like other consumer sleep wearables, Oura Ring estimates sleep stages using multiple physiological signals, including heart rate, heart rate variability, movement, breathing patterns, and temperature.

Oura expects revenues to grow 90 percent in 2026 on the previous year. Tom Hale said the company has the luxury of choosing its moment for a future listing.