By
Ibukun Ogundare
February 24th, 2021
PubMatic CEO revealed that the coronavirus pandemic had stirred up the decision to become publicly traded after 14 years.
Digital advertising technology company PubMatic Inc (NASDAQ: PUBM) stock jumped nearly 50% on initial public offering (IPO). The online advertising company is now trading publicly since its inception in 2006. MarketWatch data showed that the company’s stock today in the pre0market was trading at $29.55.
On the 9th of December, PubMatic launched its IPO on the Nasdaq with the ticker “PUBM.” Although each share was priced at $20, trading opened at $25.12. During the day, PUBM surged over 65% to $33.16. Trading finally closed over 47.25% to $29.45, leaving the PUBM with more than $1.4 billion market valuation.
In 2020, PubMatic recorded an increase in its revenue over the previous year. Over the first nine months in 2020, the company generated $93 million in revenue. The revenue generated represents an increase of 16% year-on-year. Notably, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) made up 20% of the total revenues PubMatic generated over the first nine months in 2020. Verizon also made up 28% of PubMatic’s revenue in 2019.
According to a CNBC report, other ad technology companies also recorded revenue increases in 2020. In the first nine months of 2020, one of PubMatic’s competitors, Magnite Inc (NASDAQ: MGNI), generated $140 million in revenue. Magnite revenue as of September grew 29% year-on-year, and the company is now valued at $3.1 billion. In addition, the Trade Desk also records 16% increase in revenue year-on-year. With a $41.6 billion market capitalization, the Trade Desk generated $516 million in the first nine months of 2020.
PubMatic CEO Comments on Recent IPO
The CEO and co-founder of PubMatic, Rajeev Goel, revealed the reason behind the company’s decision to go public. According to the CEO, the coronavirus pandemic stirred up the decision to become publicly traded after 14 years. He said:
“But we think the opportunity is so much bigger now than we had imagined at the beginning of the year, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. We’re spending more time on the internet. We’re doing things for the first time on the internet that we’ve never done before… and so that I think significantly expands the opportunity going forward. And so we want to be well capitalized and well positioned to take advantage of that opportunity.”
Speaking further, Goel noted that PubMatic’s unique characteristics and transparency differentiate it from other advertising technology companies. He revealed that PubMatic processes 134 billion ad impressions each day.
PubMatic competes with both publicly traded and private companies. CNBC noted Google as one of the competitors of PubMatic. PubMatic’s clients provide services to publishers and app makers. The company’s clients include News Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) and Verizon Media Group, which holds an essential position in the PubMatic. Also, PubMatic services app developers such as Zynga Inc (NASDAQ: ZNGA) and Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA).
