How many U.S. companies have been publicly listed on the AMEX, NASDAQ and NYSE stock market exchanges over each of the past 40 years?

The answer is graphically presented in the following chart! [Update: A newer version of the chart is available here!]

In the chart, we've also indicated the National Bureau of Economic Research's official periods of recession in the U.S. economy, and also the period of time from April 1997 to June 2003 during which the Dot Com Bubble first inflated (up to August 2000) and then deflated.

Data Sources

Doidge, Craig, Karolyi, G. Andrew and Stulz, Rene M. The U.S. Listing Gap. Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics. Dice Center WP 2015-07. Table 5. Listing counts, new lists, and delists. U.S. common stocks and firms listed on AMEX, NASDAQ, or NYSE, excluding investment funds and trusts. [PDF Document]. May 2015.

Wilshire Associates. Wilshire Broad Market Indexes, Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index Fundamental Characteristics. [2013, 2014, 2015 (For month ending 03/31/2015)]. Accessed 18 May 2015.