This study analyzes the relationship between COVID-19 related fear and short-term IPO performance . Though the average market-adjusted initial return of IPOs in the year 2020 is higher than that of the last four decades, it decreases if fear of pandemic increases . The evidence is robust when we use matching firm-adjusted initial returns . Next, we analyze the persistence of performance after the IPO date . The results show that the performance of IPO firms is more sensitive to the fear of the pandemic than the performance of similar existing firms.