IPO lock-up expiration calendar — how the dates work
An IPO lock-up is a contract, not a forecast. Underwriters require directors, officers, and most pre-IPO holders to agree not to sell for a fixed window after the offering. The date those shares become eligible for sale is the lock-up expiration — the event people search as “lockup expiration calendar.”
How to calculate a lock-up date
- Find the IPO pricing or first-trade date in the prospectus (Form 424B4) or listing 8-K.
- Read “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” / “Lock-up arrangements.” The standard U.S. term is 180 days after the prospectus date. Some deals use 90 days, 365 days, or an early-release if the stock holds a multiple of the IPO price.
- Add that term to the stated start date. That calendar day is the expiration, subject to the early-release clause.
RiskWhale’s live IPO lock-up expiration calendar 2026 lists upcoming ticker-level dates from that filings index — one page per symbol.
Worked example: Snowflake (SNOW) lock-up date
Snowflake priced at $120 on September 15, 2020 and began NYSE trading as SNOW on September 16. The underwriter lock-up ran until the earlier of March 15, 2021 or a results-release trigger. After the stock closed above 133% of the IPO price for 10 of 15 sessions following December 14, 2020, an early release on January 7, 2021 made about 37.9 million Class A shares eligible (excluding directors, employees, and Rule 144 affiliates). Affiliate restrictions continued to March 15, 2021.
Source: Snowflake Form 8-K, December 29, 2020. Full ticker page: Snowflake (SNOW) lock-up date.
What expiration does — and does not — mean
Expiration is permission to sell, not a scheduled sale. Volume can rise if holders use the window; it can also be uneventful. The calendar is a supply-timing map, not a trade recommendation.