Snapchat has confidentially filed for an initial public offering on Tuesday. The IPO debut of Snapchat could be the biggest on US stock since 2014. According to Reuters, Snapchat could go public as early as March and could see valuations in the tune of $20 billion to $25 billion. The Snapchat debut at that valuation will make it the biggest IPO offering since Alibaba's debut two years ago. In fact, Snapchat's debut will be the biggest since Facebook's debut in 2012, which valued the social media giant at $81.2 billion.
Snapchat has filed its IPO with the SEC under the US Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. "Companies with less than $1 billion in revenue can secretly file for an IPO, allowing them to quietly test investor appetite while keeping financials confidential," reports Reuters.
Snapchat's IPO filing was reportedly done on November 8, a day ahead of Donald Trump's surprise victory at the US Presidential elections. The global markets plummeted post Trump's declaration as President-elect but Dow Jones Industrial Average has recovered to record highs for four straight sessions.
Snapchat made its debut as a free smartphone app in 2012 that allowed users to send photos that vanished within seconds. Snapchat recently restructured itself under parent company Snap Inc. Snapchat with more than 100 million active users is an hit among millenials. About 60 percent of Snapchat users are aged between 13 to 24, making the platform ideal for advertisers.
Snapchat is currently setting the design trends among all social media platforms. Snapchat's ideas have been copied by Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram lately in order to appeal to younger audience. Snapchat recently raised $1.81 billion via venture funding, which valued it at about $20 billion. Snapchat's primary revenue source is advertising sales, which began last October.
Snap Inc, the parent company of Snapchat described itself a camera company while announcing its $130 video-camera sunglasses. Snapchat spectacles are equipped with a camera that wirelessly connects to a smartphone to send 'snaps'. Snap has also established vending machines for its sunglasses.