Snapchat is about to tell us so many things about its business
Snapchat is about to get a little less secretive.
Snap Inc., the mobile app's parent company, will file for an initial public offering late next week, according to anonymous sources speaking to Kara Swisher of Recode. Given that it's Swisher, a tech press veteran, we'd categorized them as reliable.
The fact that Snapchat is going public hasn't been kept a secret. The company secretly made moves, as in quietly filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, back in November. (Snap was able to secretly file because it made less than $1 billion last year. )
That move was leaked shortly after Snapchat rebranded itself as Snap Inc. and unveiled its camera glasses called Spectacles.
What happens next week, reportedly, will be a public unveiling of a Form S-1. Snap and its executive team, led by CEO Evan Spiegel, will then take that to investors and analysts on what's called a road show. The S-1 document means we'll no longer need to guess about its revenue and whatever else Snap considers important to its business.
Facebook revealed salaries, its number of active users and its revenue breakdown when it filed for its IPO back in 2011. Snap has reportedly has been trying to sell its IPO to investors as the new Facebook stock.
Why go public? Snap has some big ambitions and more cash could help the company on its expansion into hardware.
Snap is seeking a valuation of $25 billion, according to Recode's sources and previous reports. That would make Snap one of the largest IPOs in recent U.S. history.
Topics Snapchat
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
