2002 was a rough year for many, especially Americans.
There were wars, scandals, and even the adoption of a single currency for the European Union.
Continue reading to find out which major world events happened in 2002, which companies went public, and how they're performing today.
Major world events that happened in 2002 that affected the stock markets
Afghanistan War: The war in Afghanistan continued, with a major focus on combating the Taliban regime and Al-Qaeda following the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Iraq War: The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003. However, tensions and preparations for the war were significant in 2002 after September 11. Inspections by the United Nations and diplomatic negotiations dominated international headlines.
Euro currency introduced: On January 1, 2002, 12 European Union countries adopted the euro as their official currency, marking a significant step towards economic integration.
Enron scandal: Enron, one of the largest energy companies in the United States, filed for bankruptcy in December 2001. Although the scandal unfolded in 2002, revealing massive accounting fraud and corporate misconduct, leading to the collapse of Arthur Andersen, one of the “Big Five” accounting firms at the time.
4 interesting companies that had their IPO in 2002
1. Big 5 Sporting Goods
- Country: United States of America
- Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
- Industry: Specialty Retail
- IPO Price: $13
- IPO Date: June 25, 2002
Big 5 Sporting Goods is a leading sporting goods retailer in the United States with over 430 stores. They sell quality sporting goods, apparel, and footwear from top brands. Over the years they've expanded their catalog to include camping, fishing and even barbecuing products.
2. Dick's Sporting Goods
- Country: United States of America
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
- Industry: Specialty Retail
- IPO Price: $12
- IPO Date: October 16, 2002
Dick's Sporting Goods is a Big 5 Sporting Goods competitor and is just as well known throughout America. They sell a wide selection of products for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, including apparel, footwear, and equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, and more. They also provide services such as custom team uniforms, team sales, and team fundraising.
3. GameStop
- Country: United States of America
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
- Industry: Specialty Retail
- IPO Price: $18
- IPO Date: February 13, 2002
If you've spent time researching stocks then you've definitely heard of GameStop. They're a global retailer of video games, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise. It offers new and pre-owned video games, consoles, and accessories for all major gaming platforms, as well as collectibles, apparel, and other gaming-related merchandise. Their stock price surged in 2021 due to a short squeeze that started in the subreddit group r/wallstbets. Despite the company slowly shutting down stores, they still operate more than 4,000 stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
4. PayPal
- Country: United States of America
- Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
- Industry: Credit Services
- IPO Price: $13
- IPO Date: February 2002
PayPal is one of the first digital payment providers I came across since it integrated with eBay nicely. They're a digital payment platform that enables users to securely send and receive money online. It provides a secure and convenient way to transfer money to friends, family, and businesses. PayPal also offers a range of services such as merchant services, payment processing, and money transfers.
The 161 companies that had their Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2002
| Company Name | Date Founded | Ticker Symbol | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeropostale Inc | 1983 | ARO | Bankrupt |
| AEW Real Estate Income Fund | -99 | RIF | Active |
| AIM Select Real Estate Income | -99 | RRE | Active |
| Alcon Inc | 1971 | ACL | Active |
| Alliance California Municipal | -99 | AKP | Active |
| Alliance National Municipal | -99 | AFB | Active |
| Alliance NY Municipal Fund Inc | -99 | AYN | Active |
| Altiris Inc | 1996 | ATRS | Acquired by Symantec. |
| Anteon International Corp | 1992 | ANT | Acquired by General Dynamics |
| Asbury Automotive Group | 1996 | ABG | Active |
| Big 5 Sporting Goods | 1955 | BGFV | Active |
| Biodelivery Sciences Int'l Inc | 1997 | Active | |
| BlackRock CA Muni Income II | -99 | BCL | Active |
| Blackrock Cali Insured Muni | -99 | BCK | Active |
| Blackrock California Municipal | -99 | BZA | Active |
| Blackrock Florida Insured Muni | -99 | BAF | Active |
| Blackrock Florida Municipal | -99 | BIE | Active |
| Blackrock Insured Muni Income | -99 | BYM | Active |
| Blackrock Maryland Municipal | -99 | BZM | Active |
| BlackRock Muni Income II | -99 | BLE | Active |
| Blackrock Municipal Bond Trust | -99 | BBK | Active |
| Blackrock New Jersey Municipal | -99 | BLJ | Active |
| BlackRock New York Municipal | -99 | BQH | Active |
| Blackrock NY Insured Muni | -99 | BSE | Active |
| BlackRock NY Muni Income II | -99 | BFY | Active |
| BlackRock Strategic Bond Trust | -99 | BHD | Active |
| Blackrock Virginia Municipal | -99 | BHV | Active |
| Calamos Cvt Opp & Income Fund | -99 | CHI | Active |
| Carolina Group | 1901 | CG | Unknown |
| Chicago Mercantile Exchange | 1898 | CME | Active |
| China Telecommunications | 1995 | CHA | Active |
| CIT Group Inc Del | 1908 | CIT | Active |
| Cohen & Steers Premium Income | -99 | RPF | Active |
| Cohen & Steers Quality Income | -99 | RQI | Active |
| Commercial Capital Bancorp | 1998 | CCBI | Inactive |
| Computer Programs & Systems | 1981 | CPSI | Active |
| Constar International | 1927 | CNST | Inactive |
| Cosi | 1994 | COSI | Bankrupt |
| Crosstex Energy LP | 1992 | XTEX | Acquired |
| CTI Molecular Imaging Inc | 1983 | CTMI | Acquired by Siemens. |
| Dickie Walker Marine Inc | 2000 | DWMA | Unknown |
| Dicks Sporting Goods Inc | 1948 | DKS | Active |
| DOV Pharmaceutical Inc | 1995 | DOVP | Inactive |
| Eaton Vance Ins CA Mun Bnd Fnd | -99 | EVM | Active |
| Eaton Vance Ins CA Mun Fnd I | -99 | EIA | Active |
| Eaton Vance Ins Mun Bd Fd II | -99 | EIV | Active |
| Eaton Vance Ins NY Muni I | -99 | NYH | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured Florida | -99 | EIF | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured Mass Muni | -99 | MAB | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured Michigan | -99 | MIW | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured Muni Fund | -99 | EIM | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured New Jersey | -99 | EMJ | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured New York | -99 | ENX | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured Ohio | -99 | EIO | Active |
| Eaton Vance Insured PA Muni | -99 | EIP | Active |
| Empire Financial Holdings Co | 1990 | EFH | Active |
| Enbridge Energy Management LLC | 1981 | EEQ | Active |
| Eon Labs Inc | 1992 | ELAB | Unknown |
| ExpressJet Holdings Inc | 1996 | XJT | Inactive |
| Federated Premier Intermediate | -99 | FPT | Active |
| Federated Premier Municipal | -99 | FMN | Active |
| First Amer MN Muni Fund II | -99 | MXN | Active |
| GameStop Corp | 1987 | GME | Active |
| Harrington West Financial Grp | 1983 | HWFG | Unknown |
| Healthetech Inc | 1998 | HETC | Unknown |
| Heritage Ppty Invest Trust Inc | -99 | HTG | Active |
| Hewitt Associates Inc | 1940 | HEW | Acquired by Aon. |
| Hyperion Strat Mortgage Income | -99 | HSM | Active |
| Impac Medical Systems | 1990 | IMPC | Acquired by Elekta. |
| Integrated Defense Tech | 1986 | IDE | Active |
| Inveresk Research Group Inc | 1993 | IRGI | Acquired by Charles River Laboratories. |
| JetBlue Airways Corp | 1999 | JBLU | Active |
| John Hancock Pref Inc Fund II | -99 | HPF | Active |
| John Hancock Preferred Income | -99 | HPI | Active |
| Kirkland's Inc | 1966 | KIRK | Active |
| Kyphon Inc | 1994 | KYPH | Acquired by Medtronic |
| LeapFrog Enterprises Inc | 1995 | LF | Acquired by VTech. |
| LIN Television Corp | 1966 | TVL | Active |
| Liquidmetal Technologies | 1987 | LQMT | Active |
| Macquarie Prologis Trust | -99 | MPR | Active |
| ManTech International Corp | 1968 | MANT | Active |
| MarkWest Energy Partners LP | -99 | MWE | Acquired by MPLX LP |
| Martin Midstream Partners LP | 1951 | MMLP | Active |
| Medical Staffing Network | 1997 | MRN | Active |
| MedSource Technologies Inc | 1998 | MEDT | Active |
| Montana Mills Bread Co Inc | 1996 | MMX | Unknown |
| Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd | 2001 | MRH | Active |
| MTC Technologies Inc | 1984 | MTCT | Acquired by BAE Systems. |
| Natural Gas Services Group Inc | -99 | NGS | Active |
| Natural Resource Partners LP | 1969 | NRP | Active |
| Netflix.com Inc | 1999 | NFLX | Active |
| Neuberger Berman Cali Fund | 2002 | NBW | Active |
| Neuberger Berman Intermediate | -99 | NBH | Active |
| Neuberger Berman NY Fund | -99 | NBO | Active |
| Neuberger Berman Real Estate | -99 | NRL | Active |
| Newcastle Investment Corp | -99 | NCT | Active |
| Nuveen Arizona Dividend | -99 | NXE | Active |
| Nuveen AZ Div Adv Mun Fund 2 | -99 | NKR | Active |
| Nuveen Conn Div Adv Mun Fund 2 | -99 | NGK | Active |
| Nuveen Conn Div Adv Mun Fund 3 | -99 | NGO | Active |
| Nuveen GA Div Adv Mun Fund 2 | -99 | NKG | Active |
| Nuveen Insured CA Div Adv Mun | -99 | NKL | Active |
| Nuveen Insured California Tax | -99 | NKX | Active |
| Nuveen Insured Dividend | -99 | NVG | Active |
| Nuveen Insured Florida Tax | -99 | NWF | Active |
| Nuveen Insured Massachusetts | -99 | NGX | Active |
| Nuveen Insured New York Tax | -99 | NRK | Active |
| Nuveen Insured NY Div Mun Fund | -99 | NKO | Active |
| Nuveen Insured Tax Free Fund | -99 | NEA | Active |
| Nuveen Maryland Dividend | -99 | NWI | Active |
| Nuveen NJ Div Adv Mun Fund 2 | -99 | NUJ | Active |
| Nuveen North Carolina Fund 3 | -99 | NII | Active |
| Nuveen Ohio Div Adv Mun Fund 3 | -99 | NVJ | Active |
| Nuveen Pennsylvania Dividend | -99 | NVY | Active |
| Nuveen Quality Pref Inc Fund | -99 | JTP | Active |
| Nuveen Quality Pref Inc Fund 2 | -99 | JPS | Active |
| Nuveen Quality Pref Inc Fund 3 | -99 | JHP | Active |
| Ohio Legacy Corp. | 1999 | OLCB | Active. |
| Overstock.com | 1997 | OSTK | Active |
| Pacer International Inc | 1974 | PACR | Acquired by XPO Logistics. |
| Pacific Energy Partners LP | 2002 | PPX | Active |
| Paypal Inc | 1998 | PYPL | Active |
| Petco Animal Supplies Inc | 1965 | PETC | Active |
| PIMCO California Municipal III | -99 | PZC | Active |
| PIMCO California Municipal Inc | -99 | PCK | Active |
| PIMCO Corp Opp Fund | -99 | PTY | Active |
| PIMCO Municipal Income Fund II | -99 | PML | Active |
| Pimco Municipal Income III | -99 | PMX | Active |
| PIMCO New York Municipal | -99 | PNI | Active |
| PIMCO New York Municipal 3 | -99 | PYN | Active |
| Pioneer High Income Trust | 2002 | PHH | Active |
| Platinum Underwriters Holdings | 2002 | PTP | Acquired |
| Plumtree Software Inc | 1996 | PLUM | Acquired by BEA Systems (2005) |
| Portfolio Recovery Associates | 1996 | PRAA | Active |
| Premcor Inc | 1988 | PCO | Acquired |
| Printcafe Software Inc | 1987 | PCAF | Acquired. |
| Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc | 1953 | QUIN | Inactive |
| Real Estate Income Fund Inc | -99 | RIT | Active |
| Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc | 1969 | RRGB | Active |
| Regal Entertainment Group | 1946 | RGC | Acquired by Cineworld |
| Ribapharm Inc | 1995 | RNA | Inactive. |
| Safety Insurance Group | 1979 | SAFT | Active |
| Scudder RREEF Real Estate Fund | -99 | SRQ | Active |
| Seagate Technology | 1979 | STX | Active |
| SI International | 1998 | SINT | Acquired by Serco. |
| SRA International Inc | 1978 | SRX | Acquired by CSRA Inc. |
| Sunoco Logistics Partners LP | -99 | SXL | Acquired by Energy Transfer Partners |
| Synaptics Inc | 1986 | SYNA | Active |
| Taylor Capital Group Inc | -99 | TAYC | Acquired by MB Financial Inc. |
| Travelers Property Casualty | 1870 | TAP | Active |
| USI Holdings Corp | 1994 | USIH | Acquired by Goldman Sachs |
| Veridian Corp | 1948 | VNX | Active |
| Verint Systems Inc | 1994 | VRNT | Active |
| VistaCare | 1995 | VSTA | Inactive |
| WCI Communities Inc | 1946 | WCI | Acquired by Lennar Corporation. |
| Wellchoice | 1934 | WC | Unknown |
| WESTERN ASSET PREMIER BOND | -99 | WEA | Active |
| Wimm Bill Dann Foods | -99 | WBD | Acquired by PepsiCo. |
| Windrose Med Ppty Trust | 2002 | WRS | Active |
| Wynn Resorts Ltd | 2000 | WYNN | Active |
| ZymoGenetics Inc | 1981 | ZGEN | Acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb. |
Frequently asked questions
There were approximately 161 IPOs in 2002 according to Wikipedia data and Jay R. Ritter’s data from UF Warrington College of Business. However, it’s hard to find a complete list of every company that has hit the stock exchange for the first time since the global data is fragmented. Please do your own research to confirm this.
As of June 2023, PayPal has a market capitalization of $71B. Of course, this is subject to change and you should check for the latest data.
So far one company has been classified as “defunct”, which is Stage Stores.
