Snapchat floats on NY Stock Exchange with shares closing 44% up on opening price
The parent company of social media platform Snapchat floated on the New York Stock Exchange in the US overnight, with shares of Snap closing at $US24.53, 44% up on opening.
The company – which bolstered its local operations with the appointment of Kathryn Carter as general manager in April last year – had a market capitalisation of $US28.4b after the float.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Snap’s latest private evaluation in May last year put the value of the company at $US17.8b.
The social media company – which was founded in the US by Evan Spiegel just five years ago – recorded $US404.5m in revenue in 2016 compared with $US58.7m in 2015, according to MarketWatch, with the majority of Snap’s revenue last year coming from advertising.
Spiegel and co-founder Robert Murphy retain more than 90% of the voting shares.
Since the IPO was announced speculation about the shares have centred on whether Snap would follow the path of Facebook where the share price has enjoyed an upward trend, opening at $US38 and now trading at $US136, or Twitter, which opened at $US26 and now trades at $US15.
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