US marijuana companies are the latest prize in the so-called “listing wars” between the top two US stock markets, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, On The Money has learned.
asserted
Money → call → markets
The heightened interest in IPOs for Pot Inc., comes after federal barriers that have long blocked access to banking services are beginning to topple.
asserted
that → heighten → services
In December, a Trump executive order moved weed to a Schedule 3 controlled substance, meaning it’s no longer on par with heroin and can be used for medicinal purposes.
asserted
it → move → purposes
Then came the April codification of the EO by the DOJ and the DEA into law.
asserted
codification → come → law
The upshot: US pot companies that have long been denied banking services — because they are regulated on the federal level despite vast state legalization — can access capital markets as long as they register with the DEA as a medical company.
asserted
they → deny → company
The other upshot: A scramble between the NYSE and the Nasdaq is heating up to list US pot companies that were long denied access.
asserted
that → heat → access
The $50 billion industry is expected to grow to nearly $100 billion annually by 2030 as exchanges vie for their listings and their investor base opens up to major institutions.
asserted
base → expect → institutions
The NYSE has taken the early lead in the marijuana race.
asserted
NYSE → take → race
Glass House Brands of Long Beach, Calif., which grows weed and manufactures cannabis-related products, officially listed on the NYSE on June 30; executives of the company will be ringing the closing bell at the Big Board on Friday.
asserted
executives → grow → Friday
A few weeks earlier, the NYSE listed Trulieve, a Jacksonville, Fla., pot operator, but that was after sharp competition between the two exchanges, people there tell me.
asserted
people → list → me
“In the spring after we had been speaking with NYSE for a few months, Nasdaq approached about listing and highlighted the speed with which their processes could support listing,” a rep from Glass House tells me.
uncertain
rep → speak → me
A press official from the NYSE didn’t return a request for comment; a rep for Nasdaq declined comment other than to say there is no “fast track” approvals for listings.
asserted
rep → return → listings
Listings are a key source of revenue for exchanges, even as stocks can technically trade anywhere including so-called dark pools or private trading venues.
asserted
stocks → trade → pools
Major companies seek listings on top US exchanges partly because the imprimatur demonstrates they meet compliance standards.
asserted
they → seek → standards
The major exchanges also promise heightened liquidity for their listed stocks and branding opportunities.
asserted
exchanges → promise → stocks
We’re talking about Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon.
asserted
We → talk → Nvidia
While the New York Stock Exchange dominates among banks, energy and healthcare, both exchanges are engaged in poaching the other’s companies.
asserted
exchanges → dominate → companies
Nasdaq, for instance, recently convinced Walmart to jump ship from the NYSE, the largest so-called switch in history.
asserted
Nasdaq → convince → history
The reasons involve costs (NYSE can cost upwards of $500,000 a year in listing fees; the Nasdaq a little less than half that).
asserted
NYSE → involve → fees
But the Nasdaq’s tech-heavy rep also has attracted non-tech companies looking to be lumped in with some of the capital markets’ hottest companies.
asserted
rep → attract → companies
A big battle is looming over the listings of AI darlings OpenAI and Anthropic that are expected to go public in the coming months.
asserted
that → loom → months
But Pot Inc., is another battleground now that US companies are no longer totally barred from the markets.
asserted
companies → bar → markets
Pot Inc., executives tell On The Money that they believe Trump will soon remove weed from a Schedule III drug used for medicinal purposes to Schedule IV or V, which is de facto legalization meaning the capital markets will be fully open to US pot companies to spend on creating recreational products, such as joints and gummies.
asserted
companies → tell → joints
The Aporia
