10 top upcoming IPOs to watch in 2022.
Over the past year, a number of hot companies underwent initial public offerings, but that doesn’t mean investors looking for the best new upcoming IPO in 2022 have nowhere to turn. Yes, a record-setting 1,000 companies went public in 2021, raising $315 billion as of late December — and smashing the previous record of less than $200 billion. Roblox Corp. (ticker: RBLX), Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN) and Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) were some of the year’s most notable debuts. But there’s still appetite for a number of private companies yet to take the dive, whether they opt for a traditional IPO, a direct listing or the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, route. Here are 10 of the most anticipated potential IPOs to watch in 2022.
Discord
Although a 2022 IPO is unconfirmed, chat app Discord is considered a contender to tap the public markets in the coming year. The company has certainly captured mainstream attention: A favorite of gamers and cryptocurrency projects, the young-skewing app reportedly doubled its users in 2020 as the pandemic forced people to connect online. It boasts 150 million monthly active users, and revenue nearly tripled in 2020, jumping to $130 million from $45 million the prior year. It ended up being serendipitous that a deal worth at least $10 billion, in which Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) would acquire Discord, fell apart in April 2021. By September, the company raised $500 million at a $15 billion valuation.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: More than $15 billion
Reddit is virtually guaranteed to be one of the most anticipated upcoming IPOs to watch in 2022, as the social media platform uses the cachet it earned from 2021’s meme stock frenzy to get a taste of Wall Street itself. The company’s valuation has been “mooning” in recent years, advancing from $3 billion in 2020 to an August 2021 funding round that pegged the company’s worth at $10 billion. Reddit filed confidentially to go public in December 2021, meaning that, barring unforeseen circumstances, the wildly popular message board site will go public in 2022. At the start of 2021, Reddit had 52 million daily active users, and in the second quarter, it earned $100 million in advertising revenue, nearly triple what it earned in the same period a year prior. Reddit will reportedly seek a valuation of more than $15 billion when it goes public.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: More than $15 billion
Instacart
Just because Instacart was one of the most anticipated public debuts of 2021 doesn’t prevent it from repeating as one of the hottest IPOs to watch for in 2022. The grocery delivery giant, which enjoys backing from a who’s-who of Silicon Valley venture capital firms like Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and Y Combinator, pushed back plans to go public in 2021 as it focused on battling increased competition from the likes of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER), as well as expanding its digital advertising services, a large growth opportunity given the primed-to-buy shoppers flocking to its site. Revenue reportedly more than tripled in 2020, to $1.5 billion, but growth is expected to slow to a low-double-digit pace. Instacart is almost sure to go public in time, but with heavy backing, there’s no now-or-never urgency.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: $39 billion
Databricks
Big Data. Artificial intelligence. Analytics. Combine those three buzzwords, sprinkle in funding from the likes of BlackRock Inc. (BLK) and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROP), among dozens of others, and you’ve got a hot startup on your hands. The enterprise software company aims to be an all-in-one centralized service where customers can store and analyze data in structured or unstructured forms. Saleforce.com Inc. (CRM) is a nice example of what Databricks can do: The Dow Jones member uses Databricks to help power Einstein, its AI platform that helps users glean the most efficient ways to run their organizations. Databricks hasn’t filed to go public yet, but considering how hot enterprise software is and the revenue multiples peers trade for, an eventual IPO will be a big-time event. In an August funding round, Databricks raised $1.6 billion to reach a $38 billion post-money valuation.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: More than $38 billion
Chime
The financial technology, or fintech, space has grown rapidly in recent years, with companies like Block Inc. (SQ) and PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) among those at the forefront. One of fintech’s allures is that it makes financial services more accessible and seamless, and Chime takes that a step further by disavowing predatory fees that disproportionally affect the poor and financially uneducated. Chime does away with monthly fees, overdraft fees, account minimums and more, and this philosophy, along with its mobile-first online banking, has been a hit with consumers and investors alike. In October 2020, the company earned a $15 billion private valuation, only to garner a $25 billion valuation in August 2021. The company is reportedly targeting a valuation between $35 billion and $45 billion in an IPO that could come as soon as the first quarter of 2022.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: $35 billion to $45 billion
The Fresh Market
Every now and then, certain companies undertake a strange dance with public markets: They go public, get bought out and taken private, and then ultimately go public again as the acquiring company seeks a return on its investment. Such is the case with North Carolina-based regional supermarket chain The Fresh Market, which first went public in 2010, only to be taken private for $1.36 billion in cash in 2016 by private equity giant Apollo Global Management. That era is coming to an end, however, as the company has filed for an IPO that’s virtually certain to come in 2022. In the company’s most recent amended S-1 statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the grocer seeks to raise $100 million to give the company strategic flexibility and the ability to refinance much of its debt.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: More than $1 billion
iFit Health & Fitness
Connected fitness company iFit Health & Fitness was slated to go public in October before scuttling the deal at the last minute. Citing market conditions, the exercise equipment company that competes with the likes of Peloton Interactive Inc. (PTON) and Nautilus Inc. (NLS) now looks likely to be one of 2022’s top upcoming IPOs. The past year was objectively bad for connected fitness companies like Peloton and Nautilus, which battled both company-specific issues and a broader slowdown in demand for home workout equipment as the pandemic-fueled buying trend faded. The sell-off of these peer companies was likely a consideration in iFit’s decision to postpone its public offering. A more precise valuation is tough to pin down, but a 2020 funding round reportedly valued the company at $7 billion, so it will be an important IPO to watch no matter which way you slice it.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: $4 billion to $10 billion
Impossible Foods
Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) competitor Impossible Foods, the plant-based meat company behind the famed Impossible Burger, is extremely likely to go public, and if that happens in the coming year, expect it to be one of the hottest upcoming IPOs of 2022. One doesn’t have to be trained in reading tea leaves to foresee the debut: The company was reportedly in talks to go public as early as April 2021, it hired a new chief financial officer in August, and the CEO flat-out called an IPO “inevitable” in November. With its fake meat products in more than 20,000 stores and growing globally, and a larger societal attitude slowly turning away from meat in favor of alternatives, expect plenty of investor interest in Impossible Foods stock, whenever it eventually begins trading. The company has recently sought private money at a valuation of $7 billion.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: More than $7 billion
Lime
Fresh off raising $523 million in convertible debt in November, e-scooter and e-bike company Lime is primed to go public in 2022, according to a recent interview with CEO Wayne Ting. Formally known as Neutron Holdings Inc., the company has more than 200,000 bikes and scooters and is expanding rapidly, entering 80 new cities in 2021. It’s rival Bird Global Inc. (BRDS) went public in November via a SPAC deal, and with electric vehicle stocks going bonkers in the last few years, it only makes sense that investors would want a chance to invest in the electrification trend in more modest forms of transportation. The pandemic briefly reduced Lime’s valuation by nearly 80%, to $510 million, in May 2020, but its valuation when it goes public is certain to be multiples of that panic-driven assessment. Uber reportedly has an option to buy Lime between 2022 and 2024 for an undisclosed amount.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: $1 billion to $4 billion
Stripe
Last and certainly not least on the list of most anticipated upcoming IPOs to watch for 2022 is Stripe, the Irish-American fintech company that’s the apple of private investors’ eye. Despite recent reports that Stripe was discussing a 2022 IPO with financiers, this public debut is a bit aspirational at the moment: Co-founder John Collison told CNBC in November that the company was perfectly happy staying private. The firm makes payments software for e-commerce and processes payments for a number of massive players, including trillion-dollar Big Tech behemoths Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google. Stripe would be one of the year’s most hyped and sought-after IPOs, as its April 2021 $95 billion valuation made it the most valuable venture-backed private company in the U.S. Since then, SpaceX has surpassed Stripe in that regard, although Stripe’s next funding round is almost certain to be higher than its last.
Potential 2022 IPO valuation: More than $100 billion
10 upcoming 2022 IPOs to watch:
— Discord
— Instacart
— Databricks
— Chime
— The Fresh Market
— iFit Health & Fitness
— Impossible Foods
— Lime
— Stripe
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10 Major Upcoming IPOs to Watch in 2022 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 12/29/21: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
