follow-on offering
Follow-on offerings (sometimes called a follow-on public offerings (FPO)), refers to a public offering of securities conducted by a company after it has completed an initial public offering (IPO). Through a follow-on offering, a publicly traded company may raise additional capital or enable existing shareholders to sell shares to the public.
When the company issues new shares, the offering increases the total number of shares outstanding and is considered dilutive, because each existing share represents a smaller proportional ownership interest in the company. By contrast, when existing shareholders sell previously issued shares in a secondary offering, the total number of shares outstanding does not change, and the offering is non-dilutive.
Follow-on offerings are often structured as shelf offerings, allowing a company to register securities in advance and sell them when market conditions are favorable.
[Last reviewed in February of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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