WeWork reveals $905 million loss with IPO filing…
WeWork formally filed to go public with the SEC on Wednesday. The filing sets the company up to be the year’s second-largest IPO after Uber.
The company filed under the name The We Company and will trade under the ticker WE. After several months of anticipation, the company is finally expected to go public as soon as next month.
But the We Company’s IPO prospectus reveals a clear picture of the company’s current financials — including a significant $905 million net loss in the first half of 2019.
WeWork also reported a 101% jump in revenue through the first half of this year. The company also revealed that it had a total of 527,000 members, marking a 90% increase in membership since last year.
Continued Growth
Despite massive bottom-line losses, WeWork, previously valued at around $47 billion, seems to be growing at a rapid pace.
The company manages co-working spaces around the world and sites significant increases in both revenue and membership. And the company touts an astounding 119% net member retention rate.
In the IPO filing, the company stated, “We have grown significantly since our inception. Our membership base has grown by over 100% every year since 2014. It took us more than seven years to achieve $1 billion of run-rate revenue, but only one additional year to reach $2 billion of run-rate revenue and just six months to reach $3 billion of run-rate revenue.”
Based on the company’s current trajectory, WeWork could reach $10 billion in revenue within the next two years.
Many investors worry about the company’s losses … But WeWork is making efforts to differentiate itself from other startups like Uber and Lyft, which are also struggling to turn a profit. The We Company insists that its losses should be viewed as investments — as purchasing real estate and renting out workspaces is a “proven business model.”
New Business Ventures
The We Company is most known for its co-working business model. However, the company has worked to expand its offerings in recent years. The company now offers co-living (WeLive) and education (WeGrow) services in addition to WeWork.
The We Company has also made a number acquisitions ahead of its IPO. This includes the purchase of SpaceIQ, a workplace real estate management and operations platform, as well as Euclid, a spacial-analytics platform.
These acquisitions can aid in WeWork’s mission to provide more work and living spaces to freelancers and startups around the world.
