Sep 2021: In the News and Noted IPOs
Author: Andrew Woolston (Intern)
Reviewed by: Ralph DiFiore (CCO), Marcus Magarian, Chris Gioffre
In the News: Company Highlights
Toast:
Toast priced its NYSE IPO at $40 a share on September 22, 2021, valuing the company at $20 billion. Shares rose 56% on the first day of trading to close out at $62.51 a share but have since dropped to $49.78 a share. Toast was hit hard as the pandemic forced restaurants to close. As cities returned to pre-pandemic operations, sales rebounded rapidly, and by the third quarter, revenue was higher than a year earlier. Revenue reached $823.1 million in 2020 and tripled in the second quarter of this year to $424.7 million.[1] However, net loss reached $135.5 million in the same quarter due to rising sales and marketing costs and to R&D expenses.
Remitly:
Remitly began trading publicly on the Nasdaq on September 23rd, 10 years since it entered the cross-border remittance market. Trading opened at $43 a share at a $7 billion valuation – 30x its 2020 revenue – but shares have since dropped to $37 a share on September 29th.[2] Remitly remains much smaller and less profitable than its largest competitor Western Union. Revenue doubled from 2019 to $257 million in 2020 and has almost reached profitability logging a $1 million loss in the quarter ending June 30, 2021 – down from an $8 million loss in the year prior.
Sources:
[1] Ari Levy. “Toast Surges 56% in NYSE Debut after IPO Valued Restaurant-Tech Company at $20 Billion.” CNBC, CNBC, 22 Sept. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/09/22/toast-surges-in-nyse-debut-after-ipo-valued-company-at-20-billion.html. Accessed 30 Sept. 2021.
[2] Kauflin, Jeff. “Shares of Money-Transfer Fintech Remitly Rise 13% in IPO, Valuing It at $7.8 Billion.” Forbes, 30 Sept. 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/09/23/shares-of-money-transfer-fintech-remitly-rise-13-in-ipo-valuing-it-at-78-billion/?sh=23e2ef28ecaf&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_term=null. Accessed 30 Sept. 2021.
