IPOs to Watch in 2024

Table of contents:

1. 2024 IPO Market: Poised for Revival
2. Upcoming IPOs to Watch in 2024
3. Companies that Went Public in 2024
4. How Employee Stockholders Can Prepare for an IPO

2024 IPO Market: Poised for Revival

After a slow IPO year in 2023 — a year that ended with the fewest IPO deals of the last five years — 2024 is looking to offer a stronger environment for firms to go public. There is consensus across the industry that initial public offerings will increase in 2024 as the market becomes more favorable for IPOs and investor risk tolerance increases. 

• Goldman Sachs is on record saying that “Deal-making and IPOs are poised for a revival in 2024.” 
• CNBC reported, “There are green shoots appearing in the IPO market.” 
• And a recent Fortune IPO article headline quoted an industry expert saying, “I’m way more optimistic than I’ve been the last two years.”

In 2023, the three largest IPOs were semiconductor manufacturer Arm Holdings, consumer health company Kenvue, and footwear company Birkenstock. Even though those IPOs raised capital in vast amounts, their post-IPO share performance was rather weak. But 2024 appears to be mixing the right ingredients for an IPO rebound. With pent-up IPO demand and a high probability of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates, 2024 warrants cautious optimism for IPO growth, led by a list of prominent tech companies.

Upcoming IPOs to Watch in 2024

As initial public offerings have started to bounce back in Q1 2024, we’re tracking the following private companies to see if they IPO in 2024. If you’re an investor or employee with stock in the companies listed below, planning ahead and understanding how your company stock is treated upon IPO can save you thousands on taxes.

Sources: crunchbase.com, cbinsights.com, notice.co, caplight.com, and media reports

1. Rubrik

On April 1, 2024, Rubrik announced that it filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposing an initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The cybersecurity firm plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RBRK.”

At the time of the proposed IPO announcement, the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering were not disclosed. However, recent secondary market valuations have priced the firm around $6.3B.

2. Ibotta

Based in Denver, CO, the cash-back rewards company, announced on April 8, 2024, that it is going public on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares will trade under the ticker symbol IBTA, and IPO shares will be priced between $76 and $84.

As Ibotta launches its roadshow for its initial public offering, the deal plans to include 5,625,000 shares of its Class A common stock, 2,500,000 shares to be sold by Ibotta, and 3,125,000 shares to be sold by existing stockholders. Backed by Walmart, Ibotta is looking for a $2.3 billion valuation at IPO, double the valuation of $1 billion at the time of its Series D funding round in 2019.

3. Stripe

Founded in 2010, Stripe has raised a total of $8.7 billion and has an estimated valuation upwards of $65 billion. In 2023, the payment processing giant of Silicon Valley raised $6.5 billion in a Series I funding round. Stripe leadership made it clear that the main purpose of the fundraising was to provide liquidity to employees, stating “Stripe does not need this capital to run its business.” In February 2024, Stripe held their word, announcing a tender offer to provide employee liquidity.

Looking ahead into 2024, the likelihood of an IPO has decreased as Stripe’s cash flow turned positive. Stripe’s co-founder, John Collison, shared with the Financial Times, “With the IPO, we’re not in a rush. Businesses which are profitable have many, many more options than businesses which are dependent on outside capital.” With that said, at Harness we are monitoring Stripe throughout 2024, with the understanding that an IPO is more likely to occur in 2025.

4. Klarna

Based out of Sweden and founded in 2005, Klarna is one of FinTech’s leading buy-now-pay-later service providers. In March 2024, Klarna’s CEO shared with Bloomberg Television that he hopes to make the IPO happen quite soon. Reuters reports that Klarna could easily fetch a $20 billion valuation based on data from Klarna’s publicly listed BNPL rival Affirm.

The United States is Klarna’s largest market, and the firm has had five consecutive quarters of gross profitability. It’s been reported that the firm is targeting a Q3 IPO, and Klarna is in discussions with banks for a potential U.S. initial public offering. However, there is speculation that Klarna is considering listing in the United Kingdom or Sweden, where its headquarters are located.

5. Chime

Chime, the leading FinTech neobank, offering digital checking accounts and other personal finance services, is now more likely to IPO in 2025 than in 2024. Investors are trying to understand the company’s valuation, with numbers from $5.9 billion to $21 billion floating around the market. Although some consider Chime’s competitors to be other digital banks such as Ally, Cash App, and SoFi, with 38 million customers and the largest neobank in the U.S., Chime’s success includes attracting more primary checking account customers than Chase bank, making it a dominant player in the overall retail financial sector.

Chime’s IPO has been years in the making, with the firm initially announcing plans to go public in 2022. Even though a Chime IPO in 2024 is unlikely, Bloomberg reported that the company plans to list in the U.S. next year. Investors and Chime employees with stock options or vested shares could benefit from planning ahead as the IPO becomes increasingly expected.

6. Databricks

Riding the artificial intelligence wave, Databricks has capitalized on the need for data storage as companies adopt AI. Databrick’s main data warehousing product, called Databricks SQL, makes up about 10% of the business. With a strong core product and a suite of other services including customizable generative AI models, Databricks’ valuation may be over $40 billion at the time they go public. In September 2023, the company raised a Series I funding of over $500 million which valued the company at $43 billion and a price per share at $73.50.

The company started 2024 strong. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2024, Databricks generated $1.6 billion in revenue, a more than 50% increase over the prior year. Releasing numbers like that is a sign that Databricks is ready for IPO, as they are not required to be that transparent as a private company. Ali Ghodsi, Databricks’ co-founder and CEO said to the Wall Street Journal regarding an IPO, “We’re certainly ready as a company: The way we’re operating, the way we’re doing our audits, the way our financials are, the CFO, the board structure.” It’s likely just a matter of the right strategic timing for a Databricks IPO. 

7. Impossible Foods

Impossible Foods, the plant-based meat company, was once aiming for an IPO or a SPAC merger back in 2022. With its flagship product, the Impossible Burger, the company has worked its way into tens of thousands of grocery stores and restaurants, earning itself an estimated private market valuation of $7 billion to $10 billion. 

Although anticipated in 2024, an Impossible Foods IPO will likely require a near-perfect environment. Otherwise, there may be too great a risk of a falling valuation post-IPO. Take for example Impossible Foods’ publicly listed rival, Beyond Meat, which saw its share price rise to over $200 in 2019 but fall to below $10 over the second half of 2023 and into 2024. As a leader in the plant-based meat industry, Impossible Foods is likely looking for a strong IPO market before making any moves.

8. Turo

Turo, a peer-to-peer car rental service founded in 2009, has been planning to go public since filing an S-1 in 2022. The company has healthy revenue but with a declining growth rate over recent years, the timing of an IPO has become increasingly difficult. But an IPO does look to be in the cards as Turo continues along with updated S-1/A filings. 

Turo had a $1.25 billion post-money valuation in 2019 according to PitchBook. By 2023, secondary market valuation firm Caplight reported that Turo’s valuation increased to $2.7 billion. With the changing interest rate environment and decreasing growth rate, Turo looks to be waiting for a more ideal time to publicly list in 2024, potentially after investors have shown an improved appetite for tech IPOs.

9. Skims

Skims, the direct-to-consumer clothing brand co-founded by Kim Kardashian, earned itself a $4 billion valuation in July of 2023 and has been exploring an IPO in 2024. The company has reportedly been growing, although it doesn’t share exact financials, and has moved to a new headquarters in Hollywood as it needs more space to accommodate its upward trajectory.

Women’s Wear Daily, an industry media site, reported that Skims’ big digital reach, profitable growth, and inclusive approach is something Wall Street may be attracted to, and if proven to be a successful IPO, a business model that other fashion brands may be able to emulate.

10. Shein

Shien, the massive Singapore-based fashion retailer, had been eyeing an IPO listing in the U.S. In Q4 2023, Shein used a confidential filing, meaning that the company’s S-1 forms would only become publicly available 15 days before its offering takes place. But issues around its Chinese founding made the SEC resistant to approving an IPO in the states. The company has since turned its focus outside of the U.S. and is waiting on approval for a stock listing in London.

In 2023, Shein posted sales of $45 billion and doubled its profit, making it one of the most profitable fashion companies in the world. The firm runs most operations from China but sells goods outside of the country, benefiting from sending goods directly to shoppers, including to the UK and US, from China and paying fewer taxes. This strategy has proved controversial, prompting calls for a change in tax rules, and some opposition in the U.S. Regardless of where the firm goes public, Shein’s IPO is likely to be one of the largest of 2024.

11. Discord

Discord, the online voice, video, and text communication platform made popular by the gaming community, is likely to IPO in 2024 or 2025. Analysts previously thought that Discord would attempt to IPO in 2023 at a $15 billion valuation but that did not come to light.

Bloomberg reported in March of 2024 that the company’s sales have quadrupled to $600 million since 2020 and a new product offering will help video-game makers find new players. This growth positions Discord well for an IPO, likely listing on the Nasdaq exchange or NYSE.

12. Plaid

Valued at an estimated $4.2 billion, Plaid was thought to be planning a 2024 IPO when it hired its first CFO in October 2023 followed by its first President in February 2024 who came with IPO experience from Cloudflare. It’s common for firms to build out their executive team ahead of an IPO, and a Plaid spokesperson told TechCrunch, “I can confirm that an eventual IPO is a milestone we’re tracking towards, but we don’t have any details or a timeline to share beyond that.”

Fast forward one month to March 2024, and the hope of a 2024 IPO for Plaid seemed to vanish, with the firm’s CEO on record with Axios saying, “We have no immediate plans to IPO.” He added that “immediate meant in 2024. Given that, our team here at Harness has bumped Plaid to the bottom of our potential 2024 IPO list but is carefully watching the company’s plans.

Companies That Went Public in 2024

As our team at Harness tracks potential IPOs in the list above, we provide an updated IPO list below as companies go public. With the IPO market turning around in 2024, we’ve seen some firms move fast, including Reddit going public in just a matter of months with an IPO valuation almost 30% higher than its pre-IPO valuation.

1. Reddit

Reddit, the social network forum website, went public on March 20, 2024, at $34 per share and a $6.4 billion valuation. Listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker “RDDT” and raising about $750 million. Reddit’s IPO was not a surprise but came quickly as it was only in January of 2024 that Bloomberg reported that private trading of shares valued the social media company below $5 billion. In just a matter of months, the firm was able to go public with a valuation of nearly $6.5 billion. RDDT shares ended with a successful first day of trading on the NYSE, ending up 48% for the day. This was a good sign not only for Reddit but the tech IPO market in general, showing investor appetite for companies that have yet to make a profit but show great potential.

2. Astera Labs

On March 19, 2024, Astera Labs announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 19,800,000 shares of its common stock at $36.00 per share for a valuation of around $5.5 billion. The firm trades under the ticker symbol “ALAB,” and shares reached as high as $85 in the first week of trading. Astera Labs has benefited from the artificial intelligence boom, with their mission to design and deliver semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for cloud and AI infrastructure.

How Employee Stockholders Can Prepare for an IPO

If you work at a company that may be going public soon, there are a few steps to take to optimize your taxes and make the most of your employee equity.

1. Make sure you understand your equity. If you are a private investor, you likely know what you own. But if you are an employee equity-holder, this can be quite complex. From RSUs to stock options, various types of equity compensation are awarded differently and come with different tax treatments. To learn more, check out our free guide, Equity Compensation: A Guide for Founders and Employees.
2. Decide when to exercise stock options. If you don’t have RSUs or outright own shares of your company, you likely have stock options, either Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) or Non-qualified Stock Options (NSOs). There are a few different approaches that depend on your personal circumstances. For example, you can implement a “same-day sale” by waiting until the IPO to exercise and sell on the same day to pay taxes with the cash from the sale. This method is easy but may not be the best tax optimization scenario. You could also exercise early and hold your shares or potentially cash out your shares if your company allows you. In any situation, consulting with a tax advisor can ensure you make the best decision for you when exercising stock options.
3. Sell your vested shares. Once your shares are fully vested and exercised, you’ll have the opportunity to sell them for a profit. But before you assume that you can sell shares immediately following the IPO, there are a few details to consider. First, you’ll want to understand if there is a lockup period. Lockup periods are common, keeping you from selling shares for a certain number of days after IPO, usually 180 days. Second, you’ll need a brokerage account. Your company may require you to use a “captive broker,” or they may let you choose your own. At this time, you’ll also want to file a W-9 form with the broker so you won’t be subject to backup withholding.

Navigating employee stock decisions during an IPO can be complex with large financial ramifications. If you have questions, Harness can connect you with a tax advisor for a 1-hour planning session.

Do you have employee stock in a pre-IPO company?

If you’re one of the many employees with RSUs, unexercised stock options, or company shares in a pre-IPO company, now is the time to start planning ahead. At Harness, we specialize in helping employee equity holders manage their taxes and build a better financial future. Our network of vetted tax, financial, and estate advisors is well-versed in company equity and can help you build a plan that works for your unique needs as you navigate your company’s IPO.

If you have equity compensation in a private company, connect with Harness and get matched with an advisor well-versed in startup equity compensation.

Tax related services provided through Harness Tax LLC. Harness Tax LLC is affiliated with Harness Wealth Advisers LLC, collectively referred to as “Harness”. Harness Wealth Advisers LLC is a paid promoter, internet registered investment adviser. This article should not be considered tax or legal advice and is provided for informational purposes only. Please consult a tax and/or legal professional for advice specific to your individual circumstances.