Executive Briefing on 2019 Big Tech IPOs

The EXPONENTIAL MINDS Executive Briefing on 2019 Big Tech IPOs looks at Uber vs. LYFT in the battle for mobility, Pinterests new flavour of social media, Palantir’s data power, Slack’s domination of work productivity, and Robinhood’s new millennial platform.
We are not saying “Buy! Buy! Buy!” these stocks at IPO, but just passing along some opinion on what we are excited about.

Uber vs. LYFT – Future of mobility

Probably the most interesting and impactful IPOS of the year are the mobility tech giants of Uber and LYFT. Uber has a larger valuation of around $120 billion vs. LYFT’s more modest $23 billion however the smaller player could have an edge due to its narrower focus on consumer transportation in the USA. Plus LYFT’s IPO is set for March 28th so it’ll be in the game earlier and the funds raised would certainly be good for business and stock price.
Uber is looking to wider commercial businesses and even flying vehicle services. In the long-run this could be great but it’s been a challenge thus far. Uber’s IPO date is tbd.
One interesting note is that both firms are building out businesses beyond just ride-hailing, including e-scooter and bike-sharing businesses.

Slack – Work productivity

Stewart Butterfield has taken Slack to the heights of usability and application in the modern workplace. Slack’s run as a popular workplace communication tool has meant that it has managed to fend off acquisition talks over the years from Microsoft, Salesforce, and some speculate Amazon.
The secret of success was that they managed to have businesses laud it as the future of communication for highly-productive teams. This is more important today as competition heats up and getting new features to market gives any company the advantage. Evolution of the platform is key to longevity so a strong product roadmap will be key.
Slack said in February it had registered for a direct listing of its stock on the public market and is rumoured to be planning an early 2019 IPO at a $7 billion valuation.

Pinterest – A different social media platform

Pinterest seems to have transcended what social media is and provide a platform for true community building. IPOs from other social media powerhouses like Facebook and Snap have seen ups and downs due to influencer commentary and terrible privacy practices (that’s more of Facebook’s realm).
Pinterest quietly doubled its ad revenue in 2018. Pinterest was privately valued at $12.3 billion during its last round of financing in 2017. Buyer beware, social media users are fickle and are always looking for the next big thing. However, Pinterest has an enthusiastic fan base so that may mean this is a little more stable.
Pinterest’s IPO date is rumoured to be in late-June, and they just submitted the filing.

Robinhood – The new investment platform

Robinhood has evolved into a brokerage for the younger, mobile-obsessed generation. The key to them being so attractive is that, unlike traditional brokerages that earn money on commissions, Robinhood earns revenue from interest and cash on its accounts. They also earn money from premium subscriptions, and offers crypto trading as well as equities.
Its latest round of financing in May 2018 valued the company at $5.6 billion, and CEO Baiju Bhatt confirmed the company’s IPO plans in September.

Palantir – Data Science for all

Palantir is one of the most highly-valued U.S. tech unicorns. The data mining and analytics firm Palantir is valued in the tens of billions of dollars at around $40 billion and happen.
The truth is the companies that will power the future will have the ability to apply data science and machine learning to their ever growing data sets. Companies like Palantir, and analytics stalwarts like SAS and Tableau, will be standard platforms in the arsenals of all businesses.
The IPO is being speculated to happen in the latter half of 2019.
See more of Nikolas’ EXPONENTIAL MINDS Executive Briefings here:

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