What Pinterest Expects for Its Massive IPO

April 8, 2019 by Chris Lange

Pinterest has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). The company intends to price its 75 million shares in the range of $15 to $17 a piece, with an overallotment option for an additional 11.25 million shares. At the maximum price, the entire offering is valued up to nearly $1.47 billion. The company intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PINS.

The underwriters for the offering are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Allen, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, Baird, UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo.

This firm operates a social media site that is similar to an online scrapbook. Basically, Pinterest allows users to create a compilation of images and other media according to their interests, hobbies and so on. Then users may share their media or “pins” with other users.

Some companies have taken advantage of Pinterest’s opportunities as a means to captivate hobbyists and grow their own customer bases. The company recently developed a “Buy” button on the site that allows users to purchase goods from other companies through the Pinterest site.

Pinterest described its finances as follows:

The global advertising market is projected to grow to $826 billion in 2022 from $693 billion in 2018, representing a 5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to IDC. The digital advertising market alone is projected to grow to $423 billion in 2022 from $272 billion in 2018, representing a 12% CAGR, according to IDC. In 2018, the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail industries accounted for $64 billion of this digital advertising spend, and the travel, technology (includes computing, consumer electronics and telecom), automotive, media & entertainment and financial services industries accounted for an additional $144 billion. The United States continues to represent the largest digital advertising market in the world. The U.S. digital advertising market is projected to grow to $166 billion in 2022 from $104 billion in 2018, representing a 12% CAGR, according to IDC.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital and operating expenses.