Grocery delivery app Instacart on Friday revealed a 31% jump in revenue for the primary half of the yr because it made public its filing for a stock market flotation in Latest York, setting the stage for one of the anticipated listings in recent times.
The event comes 15 months after Instacart submitted its IPO paperwork confidentially, a move that is often a precursor to an imminent listing.
The San Francisco-based company had earlier aimed to list within the fourth quarter of last yr, but deferred its plans as a sell-off in technology stocks and the Federal Reserve’s relentless rate hikes led to a rout in equities.
Offering an in depth look into its funds for the primary time, Instacart said its revenue had surged 31% to $1.48 billion within the six months ended June 30.
The proven fact that the corporate is churning a profit could also help it find favor amongst picky IPO investors, who’ve since last yr have been preferring profitable firms over ambitious but loss-making startups.
The corporate’s net income was $242 million through the six-month period, in comparison with a $74 million loss a yr earlier.
Founded in 2012, Instacart is led by Fidji Simo, who was previously head of the Facebook app. The filing also said her 2022 annual compensation was $1.5 million.
Initial public offerings by Instacart and SoftBank Group-backed chip designer Arm are expected to revitalize the US IPO market, which has already seen some green shoots this yr after a drought in 2022, on bets that the Fed could guide the economy to a “soft landing.”
Excluding special purpose acquisition firms (SPACs), $10.3 billion has been raised via 77 IPOs thus far this yr, nearly double the quantity in the identical period in 2022, in keeping with data from Dealogic.
“I feel we’re going to see more firms kick off their (IPO) process in 2024, which is when a healthy IPO market will return,” said Mike Bellin, IPO services leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers US.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are the lead underwriters for the offering, Instacart said, adding that its shares can be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol “CART.”
Long road to IPO
Instacart’s tortuous path to a Nasdaq listing saw the corporate reportedly cut its internal valuation to as little as $10 billion in December 2022, 74% lesser than the $39 billion price tag it fetched in its last funding round greater than two years ago.
The corporate in April hiked its valuation by 18%, in keeping with a report.
Instacart had considered a direct listing, sources told Reuters earlier. Unlike in an IPO, no shares are sold upfront in a direct listing and investors can sell their shares on to the general public.
In March 2021, the corporate brought on Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman, a software industry veteran behind some big IPOs, on its board.
The corporate filed for the IPO as “Maplebear,” the name under which it was incorporated.
