Number of Public Companies Shrinks as Firms Stay Private Longer

• Stock market is shrinking - number of publicly traded US companies has fallen from 7,300 in 1996 to 4,300 today • Companies increasingly staying private, owned by PE funds with no oversight or transparency • PE funds can boost profits quickly for a sale, but less public trust and investor confidence • Pressure of quarterly earnings driving companies away from going public per JP Morgan CEO • Short-term focus on earnings over long-term strategy can put companies "on a treadmill to ruin"