Definition of initial public offering

A private company becomes a public company in a process called an initial public offering (IPO). Historically, only private companies with a strong track record of years of growth have considered themselves ready to take this significant step. The IPO has pros and cons that include exchanging a host of high regulatory costs for the benefits of significant capital. After a company "IPOs" or "goes public," investors and the general public can buy stock, and existing shareholders can sell their stock far more easily than when the company was private.