By
Steve Muchoki
April 25th, 2024
2020 was a quite successful year for the IPO space and 2021 is going to be a very interesting year to observe as well.
The United States of America has one of the most robust economies for businesses and investors looking to get engaged in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) marketplace. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic plague, the US IPO market has one of its best showings in 2020 as businesses including Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB), DoorDash Inc (NYSE: DASH) amongst others recorded big successes in their public exchange debut. While 2020 was historic, a bigger expectation abounds for 2021 with major firms looking to outpace the records of last year’s IPO unicorns. This article profiles five of the most anticipated IPOs of 2021.
Instacart
Instacart is a grocery pick-up and delivery service firm whose relevance becomes more pronounced during the lockdowns experienced last year. The company recorded improved patronage and revenue lending credence to its decision to go public.
Instacart employs Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) as the lead underwriter for its IPO and the company is valued at $30 billion. The company’s S-1 filing is expected to be made public before mid-year, and the IPO is currently being touted to outpace the success of DoorDash.
Robinhood among Other IPOs 2021
Robinhood is a well-known stock-trading app whose popularity amongst millennials for its no-fees trading is unrivaled. The company’s IPO plans are reportedly on hold following a public backlash on its role in halting trades during the GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) short-squeeze drama.
The company was accused of working against retail investors after halting the highly volatile trading of GameStop and other shorted stocks on its platform. Although the firm raised $2.4 billion in order to meet up the liquidity requirements imposed by the National Clearinghouse following weeks of the battle between retail Reddit investors and institutional short-stock traders, its IPO is on hold until the negative public sentiments are eroded.
Robinhood is a trading powerhouse and its IPO is expected to be met with success. Goldman Sachs is the Lead Underwriter for the IPO.
Affirm
Affirm offers a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) type of loan service which has gained a lot of traction in recent times. The firm’s IPO was initially slated for December 2020 but was pushed to 2021 without a defined timeline.
As reported by PYMNTS, Affirm is not delaying its IPO to attract a big pump in price and valuation as peculiar to known IPOs, rather it may be increasing the number of shares offered to make more revenue.
Affirm’s IPO will take its backing from the company’s growing revenue which increased to $174 million in Q3 2020, up from $87.9 in the year-ago period.
Crypto IPOs 2021: Coinbase Exchange
Coinbase is one of the early Bitcoin exchanges whose growth is making it seek a public listing, the first of any mainstream cryptocurrency platform of today. The Coinbase IPO will be coming at a time when institutional investors are betting big on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.
The IPO may be a great opportunity for Coinbase to tap more mainstream investors in what will complement its community of over 35 million users. The company’s S-1 filing has not been made public yet and Coinbase’s early investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management amongst others.
Roblox
Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system that allows users to program games and play games created by other users. Roblox’s popularity soared during the coronavirus pandemic as people explored alternative ways to have fun during the lockdowns.
While Roblox’s games are free to create and play, the company makes its money by taking a share of funds players spend to buy extras like virtual clothes or pets for their avatars. Already, the company’s platform generates revenue for designers selling virtual clothes and gaming kits for avatars, and an IPO may remarkably scale up these operations.
Roblox is valued at about $4 billion after a 2018 funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The platform has its own in-game currency called “Robux,” which users can exchange for real-world currency.