**High U.S. Treasury yields near 19-year highs and renewed Federal Reserve rate hikes are the dominant forces shaping IPO timing and pricing discipline as 2026 draws to a close.** The 10-year yield has climbed above 5%, elevating discount rates and compressing multiples for growth issuers, which has prompted selectivity and delayed some larger deals while smaller biotech and AI-adjacent offerings continue to clear the market. Multiple companies priced and began trading in early October, including Iambic Therapeutics and City Therapeutics, with additional filings advancing. Anthropic remains on track for a potential mid-November listing at a multi-trillion valuation, while OpenAI has shifted focus to 2027. Key near-term catalysts include Federal Reserve communications, fourth-quarter earnings releases, and resolution of pending S-1 reviews that could determine whether additional sizable IPOs price before year-end.