ETA ASAP... 10 years ago, someone watched a car approach via a smartphone map app. Now it's time for Uber's IPO. The OG ride-hailer set a price of $45 for shares to open for trading today (that's a bit on the lower end of the range they expected, which was up to $50 a share). Total company value = $82B.
The "S-1": do it... This tell-all document is required of all companies going public (and should be required reading for anyone thinking of investing). It's like a dating profile for pre-IPO companies. Unlike Tinder, it's not just your top pics with puppies — it's required to be honest and balanced:
- The good: Uber wants to own food and freight delivery, too – Its Uber Eats app has more 5-star ratings on the App Store than Uber (1.4M vs. 888K). And all those tractor-trailer big rigs might get an Uber sticker and start offering you water.
- The bad: Competition. From lots of places. In "personal mobility" alone (ride-hailing, bikes, and scooters), Uber lists 20 competitors, including planned robo-taxi fleets from GM, Tesla, and Google's Waymo. #NotJustLyft
This is 1-star timing... IPOs give us wedding-like vibes — you plan it in advance, and hope anything "beyond your control" won't ruin it. Instead of rain, Uber had to worry about a trade war. New tariffs on China hit last night. And Lyft's poor stock performance (down 37% since its high) doesn't help. There's no "IPO timing" insurance.