Oura delays $15bn US stock market listing amid market uncertainty

Oura has withdrawn its plans to list on the US stock market, a decision that would have valued the smart ring manufacturer at $15 billion. The company announced the postponement just days after revealing its intention to go public, citing uncertainty in the initial public offering market. No specific timeline was provided for when the flotation might proceed.

The Finnish-founded technology firm had filed official documents just over a week prior, outlining a plan to raise up to $2.2 billion by selling shares to investors. The proposed share price was set between $40 and $44 on the Nasdaq index. This move makes Oura the latest business to delay its public listing, a trend attributed by experts to increasingly challenging conditions in the IPO market.

Tom Hale, chief executive of Oura, stated that an IPO is merely one step in the company’s journey. He added that the firm has the luxury of choosing its moment to enter the public markets. This sentiment mirrors that of Holtec International, a US nuclear technology firm that also postponed its flotation earlier this month. Holtec blamed an unusual confluence of developments that impaired investor confidence, specifically citing rising energy costs, military conflicts, global trade tensions, and inflation concerns. These factors have led central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, to raise benchmark interest rates.

Market conditions have indeed tightened, with the yield on US debt repayable in ten years hitting its highest level since 2007 this week. Samuel Kerr, global head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket, noted that the current IPO market is significantly different from what was envisaged just weeks ago.

Financially, Oura reported a pre-tax profit of $23.5 million on sales of $907.8 million for the full year ending 30 September 2025, a substantial increase from the $6.2 million profit recorded in the previous year. For the nine months to 30 June this year, the company recorded pre-tax income of $70 million on sales of $1.2 billion. The company, which has its global headquarters in San Francisco, manufactures smart rings costing upwards of $300 that monitor heartbeat and sleep patterns via an application.

Oura is currently facing a class action lawsuit filed by the Clarkson Law Firm in August. The suit alleges false advertising, claiming the rings cannot accurately track sleep activity because sleep occurs in the brain rather than on the finger. However, it is understood that the decision to delay the IPO is not connected to this legal challenge. A company spokesperson maintained that Oura stands behind its science and accuracy claims, explaining that the device estimates sleep stages using multiple physiological signals, including heart rate, movement, breathing patterns, and temperature.