Of course to buy at ICO profitable. Prices are at least 2 times more expensive after the release of no exchange.
But there is a downside it's big risks.
After all, if the coin is already trading it means the project has already started and you can safely invest. Not afraid that tomorrow the project will become Scam this rarely happens after exchange.
Well icos can surge in value once they get listed in exchanges so definitely, its profitable to buy at ico stage. The thing is, with the big number of icos now, it will need serious study to determine if the ico can be a scam or not. There are scam icos that may seem legitimate at first so be cautious with studying where you'll invest