Venture capitalists and startup founders alike went into 2023 eagerly hoping for the return of the industry’s exit environment — specifically, the resurgence of IPOs.
After 2021, a record-breaking year for IPOs, everything screeched to a halt in 2022. PitchBook counted 296 venture-backed companies that went public in 2021, which doubles — or more — any other year prior. This plummeted to 28 in 2022, the lowest number recorded since 2009, amid the financial crisis… Read Full Article
At least eight businesses that went public through mergers with “blank-check” companies have sought protection from creditors.
It took only 10 months for Quanergy Systems Inc., a maker of high-tech sensors and software, to go from its stock market debut to filing for bankruptcy. Fast Radius Inc., a 3D-printing company, made it nine months. Online retail startup Enjoy Technology Inc. lasted eight-and-a-half months before it filed… Read Full Article
The blank-check frenzy that raised more than $245 billion over a two-year stretch has dried up, with just a handful of sponsors pooling investor money in 2023.
“The SPAC party is over,” says Greg Martin, co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, which facilitates secondary transactions for private companies… Read Full Article
"In 2021, over 1,000 IPOs were SPACs and the SPAC market was dead in 2022. There was a weakened stock market, aggressive interest rate hikes, inflation, fear of a recession, rising geopolitical tensions, and poor post-IPO performance. SPACs were somewhat of a Ponzi scheme to begin with, but they are likely to return when IPOs return. Tech IPOs to watch are Stripe, Databricks, Instacart, and ByteDance (TikTok)," says Greg Martin.
There was a surge of initial public offerings on the London Stock Exchange and AIM in 2021, with 123 companies going public. However, this flood became more of a drought last year, as adverse macro conditions and a sense of investor fatigue all but closed IPO markets in the UK and globally, according to KPMG’s head of UK capital Svetlana Marriot.
Historically, the IPO market has tended to hit the buffers following financial crises, data in the NSCI Indices annual review shows… Read Full Article
Investors seemed to have never lost faith in rocket launch and satellite internet provider SpaceX amid an otherwise tumultuous 2022 for Elon Musk and his other major assets.
Musk's Tesla lost 65% of market capitalization last year, and his ability to extract economic value from his acquisition of Twitter was doubted by many observers… Read Full Article
Greg Martin, Co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, joined Closing Bell's Kristen Scholer to break down Tesla's dismal start to 2023, as investor concerns about the EV maker were compounded by a miss on delivery estimates in the fourth quarter, and a miss on its 2022 delivery growth target.
Wave of selling from laid-off Silicon Valley workers exacerbates price declines
As market values of technology startups have collapsed this year amid a venture capital drought, the declines have been exacerbated by laid-off Silicon Valley workers selling stakes in their former firms.
Tech start-ups reliant on venture capital and wealthy tech investors have had to recalibrate growth plans as that funding has plunged, the Financial Times reported earlier this year. In addition to finding other sources of financing, many startups have begun laying off workers as they try to conserve cash… Read Full Article
Even as demand for private company stock has cratered pretty much across the board this year, there's at least one exception: SpaceX.
The big picture: "Pretty much every company we trade is down versus the end of 2021," Glen Anderson, co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, told Axios. "SpaceX is an exception," Anderson said… Read Full Article
The wave of tech layoffs this year is adding to shockwaves in the private markets, as many workers look to sell their company stock just as valuations are collapsing.
Why it matters: Say goodbye to the golden age of employee stock options. This is part of a big unraveling happening for tech workers, many living through their first downturn and experiencing unfamiliar job woes like layoffs, hiring freezes, and the diminishing value of their stock compensation… Read Full Article
Greg Martin, co-founder at Rainmaker Securities, joined Closing Bell’s Kristen Scholer to discuss Elon Musk’s tall task of balancing his Twitter ownership with pressing matters at Tesla, as the stock has crumbled almost 60% in 2022 alone.
After months of quiet, the market for secondhand stakes in startups is starting to show signs of life.
2021 was a banner year for secondary deals. Investors of all types were willing to pay premium prices for shares of late-stage, high-growth companies. This year, however, trading of private stock between new investors and existing owners such as founders and employees came to a near-standstill when tech shares tanked… Read Full Article
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Despite all the negativity around Meta Platforms (META), there's great value at current stock prices, says Greg Martin. He discusses META, noting that it will continue to be a major player in billions of people's daily lives. He also talks how markets are rallying to start the week. He then goes over why big tech stocks have lagged the market. he mentions big value tech stocks such as Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN). He then goes over his stock pick Peloton (PTON). Tune in to find out more about the stock market today.
As the US economy slowly buckles under the strain of soaring interest rates, corporate bankruptcies will pile up. Few on Wall Street doubt this. The real question they have is which sorts of companies and industries will succumb first.
A good place to start looking: firms that went public via SPAC, that anything-goes world of speculative investing that’s come to represent the unbridled financial mania the pandemic wrought and the bust that followed… Read Full Article
Elon Musk’s surprising decision to revive his offer for Twitter Inc. this week sparked a rally in the social-media company’s shares. For Tesla Inc.’s stock, however, it is an ominous sign.
The electric-vehicle maker’s shares have struggled through the billionaire’s highly public pursuit of Twitter… Read Full Article
The Apple iPhone 14 and Apple 14 Plus come with an emergency SOS via satellite feature. They will have an upgraded camera, improved 5G connectivity and ESIM with no sim tray for U.S. models. "Recessionary forces create significant headwinds for the Apple (AAPL) stock, especially in Europe and China. New products like the Apple Watch could move the needle on new users. I expect the iPhone upgrade cycle to widen, which could hit iPhone revenues by 20%. Don't bet against Apple (AAPL) because of its diversified business lines, strong cash flow, and massive balance sheet. If the AAPL stock gets pressure, they will buy back shares," says Greg Martin.
Several months after just about every venture firm told their portfolio companies to prepare for a funding drought, some investors are saying the health of the startup ecosystem may not be as dire as it once seemed... Read Full Article
