Big names like Spotify, Dropbox, and Eventbrite made the headlines of turning into IPOS in 2018, so we can expect others to join the party as well. Experts highly anticipate a handful of brands to open themselves to IPO and the investors cannot wait to expand their portfolios with thriving businesses. If you are in the latter category, let’s see together today the five most anticipated IPOs for 2019!
1. UBER
The Wall Street Journal reported last autumn that Uber received reports from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on the value of the company, said to rise to $120 billion. Uber’s IPO is a very hot topic among financial experts, the Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and investors alike, mostly because of the company’s controversial and troubled history in recent years.
Uber represents the very definition of “disruptiveness,” with dozens of lawsuits, conflicts with authorities, scandals, bans, personal data theft accusations, and many more. Despite the turmoil, however, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi plans to make Uber public after the second half of 2019.
The IPO market has its fair share of turmoil, so nobody knows for sure if the company will go public according to the proposed schedule. Nevertheless, Uber competes with Lyft, also said to be racing against time (and Uber) to IPO first.
2. PINTEREST
With its boards and articles, happy people sharing things they love, and far from the madding scandals of 2018, Pinterest sparked enthusiasm in the hearts of financial specialists with its IPO plans.
We know that one of the most successful IPOs of all times is also one of the most controversial social media companies of all times. Facebook is not investors’ poster company anymore, due to its series of public relation crises, 2016 election scandal, fake news distribution scandals, hacking, and so on.
Come to Pinterest, a haven for the investors who want to diversify their portfolios in the tech and social media companies but do not need the series of unfortunate events and problems plaguing Facebook.
Pinterest recently seeks an evaluation of around $12 billion, expressing its intentions to become an IPO in the first half of 2019. With millions of monthly users and a rise in revenue of 50% (to over $700 million), it seems that the conflict-free social media platform will become a successful model in IPO for many others.
3. PALANTIR
A tech giant in its own right, Palantir does not get much public recognition, as it does not produce consumer products that fancy our high-tech tastes. However, this somewhat elusive data mining company provides tools and big data solutions to governments and companies. While nothing is truly official in our ages, they say Palantir provided the instruments that led to the tracking of Osama Bin Laden and the disruption of many other terrorist networks.
These days, Palantir seems to be in talks with Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley for an IPO and a valuation at more than $41 billion. A steep price indeed, but as the company’s CEO says, the public is in for a big surprise if the IPO takes place.
If the IPO occurs according to plans, in the second half of 2019, the seasoned investors will have a field day, as Palantir, despite the mystery surrounding it, is one of the tech’s biggest names.
4. AIRBNB
If Uber disrupted everything we knew about car sharing and taxi services, while Palantir feels more like a Sci-Fi type of intelligence agency, Airbnb disrupted the accommodation services on a global scale. The home-sharing company is investors’ prodigy child when it comes to IPOs for multiple reasons.
Airbnb is profitable through and through, unlike other exciting companies we mentioned already; its business model includes built-in competitive advantages, and the IPO is something many people hope for a long time.
In all honesty, Airbnb CEO said that the company would be ready for IPO in 2019, but he was not sure whether it would happen. He also said that Facebook was a massive proponent of Airbnb to go public, via Mark Zuckerberg, but Brian Chesky wants to make sure this bold move would benefit the direct investors of the home-sharing brand.
If Airbnb makes the step towards IPO in 2019, it has plenty of chances of becoming one of the most exciting investment prospects of this year.
5. SLACK
We know of few companies able to fend off acquisition plans made by Microsoft or SalesForce and contemplate an IPO this year. Slack, however, is a tough game player in the tech industry, seemingly ready to step in the ring of IPOs.
Slack hired Goldman Sachs to carry the torch of the company’s public offering in 2019 and aims toward a valuation of $7-$10 billion. With the rise of cloud computing, a new CEO, and the overall cloud company stocks’ booming, it is no wonder that a tech company showing the ambitions of Slack wants to move forward into the public arena.
Details are missing, however. Specialists expect Slack to make their IPO move in the first half of the year, but no official went on record to explain when it would happen exactly. They are ready, it seems, and investors get ready in their turn, as Slack promises a soft cushion for all eager to expand their tech portfolio this year.
Conclusion
Specialists warn investors that they have other companies to look up to in 2019 regarding IPOs: Lyft, Robinhood, Postmates (a real tech unicorn), WeWork, and more. However, with names like Uber, Palantir, or Pinterest, investors will have plenty of news to follow and decisions to make. We do not know which will throw its hat in the ring first, but expect a revolutionary year!