, Columnist
The Stock Market Is Becoming a Dumping Ground
The quality of smaller listed companies has deteriorated as raising private capital becomes easier than ever.
Screening for gold.
Photographer: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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A lot of people are worried about the shrinking number of public companies in the US, but quality is an even bigger problem than quantity.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon lamented in his most recent annual letter to shareholders that there are only 4,300 US stocks, down from 7,300 in 1996. Meanwhile, Dimon noted, the number of private companies backed by private equity has ballooned to 11,200 from 1,900 during the past two decades.