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How to Buy IPO Stock in 2026: Can Regular Investors Get Shares of Anthropic and Other Big IPOs?

Why everyone is asking

On October 26, 2026, Anthropic filed to go public on the Nasdaq under the ticker ANT (our report). It could be one of the largest IPOs ever. Earlier this year, SpaceX's listing drew a similar rush.

Big IPOs create a simple question with a complicated answer: can a regular person get in?

First, how an IPO actually works

1. Filing. The company files a registration statement (an S-1) with the SEC describing its business, finances and risks.
2. Roadshow. Bankers pitch the stock to big investors and gauge demand.
3. Pricing. The night before trading, the company and its underwriters set the offer price and allocate shares, mostly to institutions.
4. First trade. The next morning, the stock opens on the exchange. The opening price can be far above, or below, the offer price.
5. Lockup. Insiders usually can't sell for about 180 days.

Retail investors can participate at step 3, through a broker, or at step 4, on the open market.

Option 1: Get shares at the offer price (IPO access)

Several US brokers have programs that let eligible customers request shares at the IPO price:

Rules change often, and not every broker gets shares in every IPO. Check your broker's IPO page before a deal is priced.

Step by step

1. Confirm your broker is in the deal. Brokers can only offer shares if they're part of the selling group.
2. Check eligibility. Some require minimum balances, a trading history or a questionnaire.
3. Read the prospectus. You'll be asked to confirm you've received it.
4. Submit a conditional offer. You say how many shares you want and the maximum price you'll pay. If the IPO prices above your maximum, your order is cancelled.
5. Reconfirm. When the price is set, you may need to confirm your order quickly, sometimes within an hour or overnight.
6. Wait for allocation. For hot IPOs, demand can be many times the supply. Expect a partial fill or nothing.

The fine print

• Flipping rules. Many brokers restrict future IPO access if you sell within a set period, often around 30 days.
• Cash required. You usually need the full amount in your account when you submit.
• No guarantee of profit. Shares bought at the offer price can still fall below it on day one.

Option 2: Buy on the first trading day

Once the stock starts trading, anyone with a brokerage account can buy it, like any other stock.

1. Know the ticker and which exchange it trades on (ANT on Nasdaq for Anthropic).
2. Be patient. IPOs often open hours after the market opens, once bankers balance buy and sell orders.
3. Use a limit order. Set the maximum price you'll pay. A market order on a hot IPO can fill far above what you saw on screen. See market vs limit orders.
4. Size it small. First-day volatility is extreme. A position you can afford to see drop 30% is a good rule.
5. Decide your plan before you buy. Are you holding for years or trading the pop? Write it down.

Option 3: Wait

Waiting is underrated.

• Prices settle. First-day excitement often fades over the following weeks.
• Lockups expire. About six months later, insiders can sell, which can create better entry points.
• Quarterly results. After one or two earnings reports as a public company, you'll know far more.
• Index inclusion. Very large IPOs can join major indexes relatively quickly. If that happens, your S&P 500 or Nasdaq-100 fund will buy it for you.

What history says about IPO returns

Research by University of Florida professor Jay Ritter, the leading academic source on IPO data, shows two consistent patterns:

1. Day one: IPOs have historically jumped on their first day, on average, measured from the offer price. That gain mostly goes to investors who got allocations, mainly institutions.
2. Long run: over the following three years, IPOs have on average underperformed comparable companies and the broader market.

In other words, the easiest money in an IPO is made by the people who get shares at the offer price, not by those buying at the open.

You may already own a piece

Before buying an IPO directly, check what you already own. Amazon and Alphabet have disclosed investments in Anthropic, and both are large holdings in S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 funds. Our article on how much AI you already own shows how much exposure a basic index fund gives you.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Market orders on day one. Use limit orders.
2. Going all in. Keep any single IPO to a small slice of your portfolio.
3. Buying the hype, not the business. Read the S-1's risk factors and financials, or at least a summary.
4. Ignoring the lockup. Mark the date on your calendar.
5. Using margin. Borrowing to buy a volatile new stock magnifies losses.
6. Selling everything else to buy it. A single stock, however exciting, isn't a portfolio.
7. Falling for "pre-IPO" offers. Unsolicited offers to sell you shares before a famous company lists are a common scam. The SEC warns that most pre-IPO offerings pitched to the general public aren't registered and may be illegal.

The bottom line

You can buy IPO stock by requesting shares through a broker's IPO program, by buying on the first trading day with a limit order, or by waiting. For most people, a small first-day or later purchase, inside a diversified portfolio, is the realistic path. If you're in Canada, see how to buy a US IPO from Canada.

This article is educational and not a recommendation to buy any IPO. Broker programs and eligibility change; confirm details with your broker.

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