Snapchat IPO: With Shares At $17 Each, $24 Billion Valuation Makes It Biggest Tech IPO In The US Since Alibaba
Snap Inc., the parent company behind the popular photo and video messaging application Snapchat, has secured a market value of nearly $24 billion through its initial public offering (IPO), making it the biggest technology IPO in the U.S. since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. made its debut in 2014.
The company priced its IPO of 200 million shares at $17 each — higher than the initially expected value of between $14 and $16 per share. Snap will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol “SNAP.”
The IPO has the Silicon Valley buzzing since the company quietly filed to go public amid the U.S. election in November. Its IPO had been the most eagerly awaited one since Facebook and Twitter made their debut in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Facebook’s IPO debuted at $104 billion and the company is currently valued at roughly $395 billion. Twitter’s IPO in 2013 debuted at $14.2 billion and the company is currently valued at just over $11 billion.
Snapchat’s growth prospects were under doubt after reports suggested that the company is slowing down in attracting new users. The company also posted a net loss of $514.6 million in 2016, but its revenue earned through advertisements totaled at about $404 million for the year.
Although Snapchat has a total of 158 million daily users, and it added 36 million daily active users during the first half of last year, it was only able to pick up 15 million in the second half. In comparison, its main competitor — Facebook’s photo sharing app Instagram — has continued to pick up new users and has even rolled out Instagram stories, a feature that cloned Snapchat’s photo sharing tactics.
But the company appears unfazed as Snapchat founder and chief executive Evan Spiegel is banking on newer innovations to keep the it on track. For instance, the company released its first hardware product–Snapchat Spectacles– in February. The video-recording smartglasses were priced at $129.99 for purchase on the company’s website.
Snap Inc., the parent company behind the popular photo and video messaging application Snapchat, has secured a market value of nearly $24 billion through its initial public offering (IPO), making it the biggest technology IPO in the U.S. since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. made its debut in 2014.
The company priced its IPO of 200 million shares at $17 each — higher than the initially expected value of between $14 and $16 per share. Snap will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol “SNAP.”
The IPO has the Silicon Valley buzzing since the company quietly filed to go public amid the U.S. election in November. Its IPO had been the most eagerly awaited one since Facebook and Twitter made their debut in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Facebook’s IPO debuted at $104 billion and the company is currently valued at roughly $395 billion. Twitter’s IPO in 2013 debuted at $14.2 billion and the company is currently valued at just over $11 billion.
Snapchat’s growth prospects were under doubt after reports suggested that the company is slowing down in attracting new users. The company also posted a net loss of $514.6 million in 2016, but its revenue earned through advertisements totaled at about $404 million for the year.
Although Snapchat has a total of 158 million daily users, and it added 36 million daily active users during the first half of last year, it was only able to pick up 15 million in the second half. In comparison, its main competitor — Facebook’s photo sharing app Instagram — has continued to pick up new users and has even rolled out Instagram stories, a feature that cloned Snapchat’s photo sharing tactics.
But the company appears unfazed as Snapchat founder and chief executive Evan Spiegel is banking on newer innovations to keep the it on track. For instance, the company released its first hardware product–Snapchat Spectacles– in February. The video-recording smartglasses were priced at $129.99 for purchase on the company’s website.
