As the year is winding down, there’s growing talk of a few different IPOs we want for Christmas. Data, tech, and finance are prominently in our wish list, but let’s be honest – would yours be any different? Take a look at these high-potential IPOs.
GoDaddy: After setting its sights on an IPO in June 2014, Internet hosting company GoDaddy took a break for a couple seasons, but finally seems to be back on track for early 2015. This was a strategic move on their behalf. GoDaddy wanted the buzz around Alibaba to fade a bit and wanted its YOY improvements to be particularly obvious to investors. In this case $825 million in 2012 against the $1.02 billion in 2014 and a net loss that fell by nearly $20 million to $116 million. Now the web hosting company is set to go public, as long as it can keep up with the thriving crowd of other web hosts.
Uber: Oh, Uber. Despite the controversy over the comments from some of the cab app’s leaders (as well as government regulations trying to hold onto old taxi models), Uber remains the leader in its market and continues to expand internationally. We would love to see Uber go public and an IPO announcement as soon as possible, and so would some major backers. Goldman Sachs is rumored to be raising capital for Uber for free, and Morgan Stanley is also waiting eagerly in the wings for a taxi app opportunity. The $40 billion valuation certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
Hortonworks: The open source data management company Hortonworks has recently announced IPO share prices between $12 and $14, a valuation of around $660 million, much less than the previous $1 billion valuation. The company is most likely trying to avoid an IPO hangover by setting its sights on a more reasonable price target. Once investors get past their initial disappoint at the lowered prices, Hortonworks may be a pleasantly stable surprise in the data market, and a sign of things to come for enterprise software. We’ll see when the company debuts on the NASDAQ on December 12.
LendingClub: This San Francisco darling is set to break a few records as it prepares for an IPO that could gather near to $800 million, one of the biggest U.S. tech openings of the year. It’s a big step for the peer-to-peer lending market, and LendingClub seems to have plenty of room for growth, especially for going public. Peer-to-peer loans are a relatively new entrant in the finance space, but many are excited for what the splash LendingClub will make with its new capital in a digital age where P2P is easier than ever. With an early December IPO date, this is one Christmas present that’s coming early, and may set the momentum for other holiday IPOs.
Box: Box is certainly a big name in cloud storage and related collaboration, for now. After filing for an IPO in March the company has been dragging its heels. This may not be the best move in a market where Microsoft, Google, Dropbox and others are busy engaging in price wars and offering more and more freebies. Box has plenty of potential, though. Its latest valuation was at $2 billion and its latest funding round saw the company secure $100 million. The sooner Box announces an IPO, the more prepared it will be in its high-paced market. Please hurry, Box, as you’re our fifth IPO we want for Christmas.