3 ms·

I wont feign any deeper understanding here, but wouldn't it have been just as bad (and perhaps worse??) if they had been public over the last couple years? I.e

I wont feign any deeper understanding here, but wouldn't it have been just as bad (and perhaps worse??) if they had been public over the last couple years? I.e., wouldn't the public market have shredded their stock apart even more if this is how even the private financial markets are handling their current positions/views of the business? I suppose if the goal was to create a big exciting exit event for employees and private shareholders a 2019 IPO would have been great, but I'm imagining a bunch of that wealth is wiped out by a downturn in public prices too.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
eganist 4y ago
> wouldn't it have been just as bad (and perhaps worse??) if they had been public over the last couple years? Bad for who? The original investors would've gotten their exit at a superlative valuation, and with any eventual downturn, Stripe would've gotten to buy their own shares back at a discount. The bagholders would've been institutional investors, so I guess bad for all of us by proxy (401ks etc) but they would've made out like bandits.
stanleydrew 4y ago
Just as bad for whom? I think the big difference is that with a public market for their shares, Stripe itself probably wouldn't need to sell new shares in "down rounds." Yes the stock price would fluctuate on the secondary market and certainly would have dropped since 2021, but equity holders wouldn't be dependent on Stripe raising funds or organizing tender offers to sell.