AFME is pleased to circulate its Equity Primary Markets and Trading quarterly data report for the fourth quarter of 2025 and for the full year 2025. The report provides detailed data and analysis on the issuance and performance for the equity markets.

Among the main findings of this report:

• Average daily equity trading on European main markets and MTFs increased by 26% YoY in 2025, with trading volumes rising to an annual record of €22.24tn in 2025 (adjusted excluding non-addressable liquidity). Unlike previous volatility periods, volumes recorded in 2025 have not reverted to pre-spike levels following the US tariff announcement in April. The sustained strength in 2025 suggests that higher trading volumes are not driven solely by once-off events. Instead, the pattern points to a broader or more structural shift in market behaviour.

• Cautious optimism for European Initial Public Offerings (IPOs): IPOs on European exchanges totalled €6.5bn in Q4 2025, a significant increase from the €3.3bn issued in Q4 2024. However, cumulatively for the year, European IPOs continued to exhibit a decline of 6% YoY due to the subdued activity of the first part of the year.

European IPO momentum heading into 2026 remains strong, with a growing number of companies preparing to go public. Whether this pace can be sustained will become clearer in the coming months, but the large IPO of €3.8bn issued on Amsterdam by CSG BV in early January provides grounds for cautious optimism about the outlook for European market.

• Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity rose 16% YoY in 2025 when measured as announced value and the completed deal value increased by 6% YoY.
• Special feature: Transition from DVC to SVC. Another eventful shift in 2025 relates to the entry into force of the new Single Volume Cap (SVC) system for dark trading in the EU. On 14 October, the EU market transitioned from the Double Volume Cap (DVC) regime to the newly implemented Single Volume Cap (SVC), marking a significant shift in the EU approach towards limiting the volume of trading activity exempted from pre-trade disclosure (i.e. dark trading). 

Early data following the implementation of the SVC indicates a decline in the proportion of dark trading across major EU indices. This decline has coincided with an increase in activity on pre-trade transparent trading mechanisms, most notably periodic auctions.

Under the SVC, the number of instruments suspended at the EU level temporarily increased from 233 under the DVC to 355 in October under the SVC, later falling to 217 at the end of December 2025.

Source: AFME