This study investigates the signaling properties of the use-of-proceeds disclosure in the prospectuses of going public companies. This disclosure plays an important role in mitigating information asymmetries through revealing the motivation of owners to take the business public. A three-layered classification scheme for the use-of-proceeds is used, consisting of investment intention, debt payment intention, and general corporate purpose intention. The study argues that companies declaring investment intention and in particular, those disclosing research and development (R&D) intention signal their long-term value creation potential and consequently provide greater returns, while debt payment and general corporate purpose intentions do not signal value creation. A sample of 117 firms that went public on Borsa Istanbul are used to test the predictions. Results show that investment is the primary motivation for going public and over 50% of all proceeds are allocated for further investment plans. Debt payment intention and general corporate purposes come second and third in terms of the amount of proceeds. Capital expenditures (CAPEX) account for most of the investment plans, as 76 of the 79 firms declaring investment intention allocated part of the proceeds to it. In contrast, only 15 small firms declare R&D investment intention, accounting for a negligible 0.3% of the gross proceeds. Regressions show that investment declaring companies provide larger initial returns relative to non-declaring firms. R&D emerges as the source of good performance despite its small size while CAPEX plans appear to be priced in the offer price and have no significant impact on long-term returns. The results support the notion that the use-of-proceeds disclosure provides investors information to assess investment worthiness of the going public companies and highlight the importance of investing in the future.