Medline debuts on Nasdaq after biggest IPO of 2025
Shares of the US medical equipment giant Medline rose more than 22% in their Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, following the biggest global IPO of the year.
The stock opened at $35, down from its IPO price of $29.
The private equity-owned company sold just over 216 million shares on Tuesday, generating $6.26 billion in proceeds. an increased offer This caps off a strong year for new IPOs and strengthens optimism for the IPO market in 2026. Medline shares will trade under the symbol “MDLN.”
This IPO pricing gives Medline a market cap of at least $37 billion, based on shares listed in its regulatory filings.
“Historically we’ve done very little advertising, very little marketing, and this gives us a way to amplify our voices and expand the perception of who we really are,” Medline CEO Jim Boyle told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” earlier Wednesday. he said. “We’re the biggest company you’ve never heard of, and we’re everywhere. And that’s a really interesting thing.”
The U.S. IPO market has remained stable despite market volatility in the spring due to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs and the longest U.S. government shutdown in history in the fall. More than 200 IPOs have priced this year, including Medline, the largest listing since then in the US. rivyaAccording to data compiled by CNBC, $13.7 billion in deals were made in November 2021.
But Medline’s IPO is also among the largest private equity-backed IPOs. Three private equity firms – Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman – acquired a majority stake in the company for $34 billion in 2021. At the time, the deal was the largest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.
Medline CEO Jim Boyle celebrates with others as medical supplies giant Medline (MDLN) goes public on the Nasdaq exchange in Times Square in New York City, USA, on December 17, 2025.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Founded in 1966, Medline is headquartered in Northfield, Illinois. The company produces and distributes roughly 335,000 different medical and surgical supplies – from gloves, masks and scalpels to wheelchairs. Medline has customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 43,000 people worldwide by the end of 2024.
Medline’s total debt was around $16.8 billion as of the end of September 2025. $25.5 billion net sales In 2024.
Medline’s plans to go public this year had been delayed due to uncertainty about tariffs affecting products from Asia. The majority of the company’s products are sourced or manufactured from Asian countries, particularly China.
Medline expects a $150 million to $200 million hit to pretax income from tariffs in fiscal 2026.
The company competes with names like McKesson And Cardinal Health.
— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this report
