The number of publicly traded U.S. companies has fallen by more than half since 1996, said Nicole Goodkind at CNN. "Back then, the number exceeded 8,000 companies." Today, the count has dropped to just 3,700, according to data from the Center for Research in Security Prices. "It's not that America has half as many companies as 30 years ago — it's that companies are increasingly staying private." The IPO market fell by nearly 95% in 2022 after lackluster returns the year before. There are also "about five times as many private equity-backed firms in the U.S. as there are publicly held companies," holding more companies back from listing. In 1999, the average U.S. tech firm went public after four years. It's now about 11 years. READ MORE