Investors keen to accelerate their position in the ride-share market will soon have a new deal to hop on. The long-awaited Turo initial public offering (IPO) may be coming around the corner.

On June 9, the car-sharing platform filed an S-1/A update to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Turo did not announce a date for the launch, only stating it would go public “as soon as practicable after this Registration Statement is declared effective.” It plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker “TURO.”

The company first registered confidentially in August 2021 before filing its S-1 in January 2022. The number of shares and the price range for the offering are still yet to be disclosed, while Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan remain the lead underwriters on the deal.

Yet the update gives investors a closer look at Turo’s financial health before the deal hits the road. 

The new numbers show a mixed picture. In the 12 months to March 31, Turo generated $789.9 million (last 12 months) in revenue. Its net income for the period was $123.4 million.

The updated filing reveals the company’s revenue rose 30% to $186 million in the first quarter (up from $143 million in Q1 last year). However, its losses increased, up to $24.3 million (76 cents a share), compared to losses of $7 million, or 23 cents a share, a year ago. 

Turo reminds investors that expansion is the priority for now: “We do not expect to continue to generate net income on a consistent basis in future periods. We expect our operating expenses to increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we implement initiatives designed to grow our business.”

Turo stated it does not plan to pay a dividend in the foreseeable future.  

Getting into Gear

Turo, formerly known as RelayRides, is the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace, boasting over 165,000 active hosts and 3.1 million active guests. 

Its main markets are the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia, and it plans to expand into new markets in the near future.  

The global car-sharing market is on the move. For instance, in Europe alone, McKinsey predicts the car-sharing market in Europe – valued at around $75 billion last year – will grow to be worth at least $160 billion by the end of the decade. 

While it is a leader, Turo is going to have to keep ahead of the competition in this large and growing sector. Its rivals include traditional car rental companies such as Avis, Budget, and Hertz, as well as other peer-to-peer platforms, the largest being Getaround.

GetAround went public late last year at the end of the worst year for tech IPOs since the financial crisis. After staging a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) IPO, GetAround lost over 90% of its market value within the same month, and its price has not recovered since.  

Turo waited curbside throughout last year’s bear market. Now, with the stock indexes reaching new highs, Turo may find market conditions more suitable to pull out and merge into the trading traffic. 

Investors who are bullish on car riding will hope these new market conditions favor Turo’s upcoming deal. 

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