2020 IPO Expectations Remain High

Written By Monica Savaglia

Posted December 24, 2019

In 2019, we saw some of the public’s favorite startups flop in their IPOs. Uber (NYSE: UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) showed that they weren’t profitable and were conducting business in an industry that has been experiencing recent backlash and bad press involving its drivers’ and riders’ safety.

An industry that once seemed invincible was now having problems, and this was probably one of the reasons potential investors became hesitant about Uber and Lyft and began questioning whether there was a future for the ride-sharing industry. 

These were two companies that everyone was anticipating to be the biggest winners of 2019. There were a lot of expectations from these two companies, and they didn’t deliver.

WeWork was another massive company that investors were excited about going public in 2019. 

WeWork touted its valuation and the potential it had for investors, but as its IPO got closer and its financials were released, that’s when the public realized this company was all hype. It wasn’t profitable, and its future looked dim. It was spending more money than it was making. The company backed out of its IPO, and its CEO — its biggest hype man — backed down from the company.

James Gellert, chairman and CEO of RapidRatings, a research firm that analyzes the financial health of companies, said:

Tech companies have pushed the edges of the envelope with dual-class stock listings and CEO/founder control. If you buy a share of a public company, you should have a vote and know what’s going on. So many tech IPOs flaunt the concept of transparency and shun investors’ rights. The market has gotten pretty sick of it.

This is something we most likely won’t see going into 2020’s IPO market. The hyped-up IPO with a massive valuation but with no future of profitability will no longer be the norm.

Closely Watching for Airbnb to Go Public

Going into 2020, there have already been rumors that home-sharing company Airbnb will be the company to launch the year into greatness. Investors are looking to the company with the hope that it won’t disappoint the way Uber and Lyft did.

Yes, Airbnb is classified as a unicorn (valued at $1 billion or more) similar to Uber and Lyft, but experts have analyzed Airbnb’s finances, and the company appears to be financially healthy and doesn’t have a whole lot of competition. 

Not only does it not have a lot of competition, but the company has also been focused on investing in a new realm of business: hotels. It’s not a totally outlandish idea, but it’s still something the company has never done before.

Airbnb has already disrupted the traditional hotel market with its unique business model, so why not disrupt it even more by taking more business away from hotel companies?

This could be a big business opportunity for Airbnb if it is able to execute it successfully. It has the potential to bring in more customers, more money, and grow its businesses even bigger. It also allows its users to feel more secure booking a hotel room rather than a place to stay in someone else’s home or apartment.

A successful public offering from Airbnb would inspire 2020’s IPO market immensely. There’s always that one company that inspires other companies to go public. When they see a company that has everything going for it like Airbnb go public and have a successful public debut, that lets other companies know the market is receptive. Investors are ready.

What Could 2020 Bring?

I believe 2020 will be a different year for IPOs. A lot happened in 2019. Investors had enough of these highly valued, no-profitability, hyped-up companies that have been flooded with venture capital funding. Investors want transparency and actual profitability when considering to invest. 

Investors don’t want to be told a story that a company will be the next big whatever. They wants to be shown that the company has what it takes to be that next big whatever — that the company will have the financials to back up its claims.

Santosh Rao, head of research at Manhattan Venture Partners, said in an interview:

2020 could be a good year for the IPO market. There is a tremendous pipeline. IPOs are not broken but the bar has changed. Before there was no bar.

There’s a bar now for companies focused on going public, and they’ll need to make sure to meet that bar, or investors will be skeptical of the company’s IPO and its future on the market. 

This was a long time coming. There needed to be some type of bar. If better companies are going public, that would mean more money earned on their IPOs and higher proceeds for the market. 

It makes sense that the companies that succeed will be viable and profitable. Rao also said, “Investors are now more demanding and want sustainable business models.” 

This couldn’t be truer. Investors want to invest, but they only want to invest in a company that proves it has the strength and is able to stand out in its market and make a true name for itself. Airbnb has the makings of that, which is why the market is anticipating its public offering. 

2020 has the makings of becoming a big IPO year with some really strong companies emerging on the public market.

Until next time,

Monica Savaglia Signature Park Avenue Digest

Monica Savaglia

Monica Savaglia is Wealth Daily’s IPO specialist. With passion and knowledge, she wants to open up the world of IPOs and their long-term potential to everyday investors. She does this through her newsletter IPO Authority, a one-stop resource for everything IPO. She also contributes regularly to the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Monica, click here.

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