今年，首次公開募股的形勢比起2016年有所好轉，不過也沒強到哪里去，考慮到股市的強勁表現，這著實令人驚訝。實際上，許多分析師預測，盡管2017年的情況優于去年，但上市的公司數仍將少于2015年。今年炒作最火熱的兩大IPO——Blue Apron和Snap都表現糟糕，對促進上市熱情毫無幫助。兩支股票目前的成交價都遠低于起初的發行價。

那么為什么要上市呢？這個問題問得好。作為一家從未尋求外部投資的私有軟件公司的共同首席執行官，以及前VMware高管，我可以自信地說，在目前的市場條件下，私有公司上市帶來的優勢幾乎不存在。

公司一旦上市，就被綁上了季度業績指標，這會讓它很難執行成為真正偉大的公司所需的長期戰略。投資者可能會忍受較低的利潤，甚至虧損，只要增長態勢還算良好，但是耐心可不是他們的強項。遲早某一刻，進行大規模投資，可能需要長時間來取得成功的公司將會受到股價下跌的懲罰。公司會因此更容易遭到并購或惡意收購。員工的斗志也會大受打擊，因為他們的401(k)養老企業年金和股票期權都取決于股票價值的高低。

其次，在上市公司中，高管可以施展的余地也小得多。公司不僅需要達到或超出分析師預測的季度業績，還需要披露資料，領導層必須公布（盡管不是全盤托出）公司的戰略。這讓公司很難迅速改變方向，把握市場機遇，尤其是如果新的機遇會對公司的短期盈利產生負面影響的話。突然偏離公司提出的戰略，會被市場看作軟弱和猶豫，這會進一步拉低股價。

來自投資者和分析師的壓力，迫使高管花費大量時間和資源來追求和安撫他們，這限制了他們迅速行動、抓住機遇的能力。買空型投資者會仔細尋找披露資料中一切可以用于宣揚和利用的弱點，無論那是真實的還是想象的。

而最有傷尊嚴的事情是什么？公司在控制權的喪失之外，還需要花費數百萬美元來準備文書和報告。

當然，如果你需要大規模的資金注入，公共市場可以隨時提供所需。如果你的投資者想要退出，公共市場當然也是個好選擇。而如果你需要通過并購來發展壯大，上市可以讓你有足夠資金來大買特買。

不過如果你不需要額外的資金或并購來發展，就完全沒有理由上市，尤其是現在。Bose、MailChimp和我自己的Veeam等私有公司都在沒有上市“利好”的情況下，迅速地發展和盈利。

歸根結底，上市只有在萬不得已要滿足投資者，募集從其他來源無法獲得的資金，或是更容易地收購其他公司時才有意義。坦率地說，看看Snap和Blue Apron最近的例子，任何現在不需要上市的人去這么做都是瘋狂的。（財富中文網）

作者彼得·麥凱是Veeam的共同首席執行官和總裁。

譯者：嚴匡正

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This year has been better for IPOs than 2016, but not that much better, which is surprising given the stock market’s strong performance. In fact, many analysts expect that although 2017 will top last year, we will still see fewer companies go public in 2017 than in 2015. The poor performance of the two most hyped IPOs this year—Blue Apron and Snap—hasn’t helped boost enthusiasm for going public; both are currently trading far below their initial offering price.

So why go public? It’s a good question. As co-CEO of a privately held software company that has never taken outside investment, and a former senior executive at VMware, I can say with confidence that there’s little advantage for a private company to go public in current market conditions.

By going public, companies chain themselves to quarterly performance goals, which makes it extremely difficult to execute the kind of long-term strategy that creates a truly great company. Investors may tolerate lower profits, and even losses, so long as growth remains robust, but patience is not their strong suit. At some point, usually sooner rather than later, companies that make big investments that take a long time to pay off will be punished by a falling stock price. This leaves the company vulnerable to acquisition or a hostile takeover, and it crushes the morale of employees, whose 401(k) plans and stock options depend on their shares gaining value.

Second, as a public company, executives have much less room to maneuver. Not only is the company expected to meet or exceed analysts’ quarterly performance expectations, but disclosure requirements mean that the leadership team must telegraph, if not outright state, its strategy. This makes it difficult to quickly change direction to take advantage of a market opportunity, especially if the new course will have negative short-term ramifications for earnings. Any sudden deviation from a company’s stated strategy will be perceived by the market as weakness and vacillation, further driving down the stock price.

Pressure from investors and analysts require executives to spend precious time and resources wooing and placating them, restricting their ability to act quickly to seize opportunity. Short sellers scrutinize every disclosure for weaknesses, real or imagined, that they can publicize and exploit.

And the final indignity? For this loss of control, the company will pay millions simply to keep up with paperwork and reporting.

Of course, if you need a large capital infusion, the public markets can provide a ready supply. If your investors are clamoring for an exit, the public markets are certainly a ready option. And if you need to grow through acquisition, going public can give you currency in stock to go on a buying spree.

But if you don’t need additional capital or acquisitions to grow, there’s really no reason to go public, especially now. Privately held companies like Bose, MailChimp, and my own company, Veeam, continue to grow profitably at a rapid clip without the “benefit” of going public.

In the end, going public only makes sense as a last resort to satisfy investors, to raise capital that can’t be sourced elsewhere, or to make it easier to buy other companies. Frankly, given the recent examples set by Snap and Blue Apron, anyone who doesn’t need to go public right now would be crazy to do so.

Peter McKay is co-CEO and president of Veeam.