Reddit closed up 48%, at $50.44/share, in its NYSE debut, valuing the company at ~$9.5B on a fully diluted basis, just shy of its $10B valuation in August 2021
even for y'all. Rat King / @mikeisaac : apparently Reddit's IPO included the first bell-ringing carried out by a “non-human entity” — in this case, the alien Snoo [image] Trevor Scott / @tidefallcapital : You maniacs are paying $8bn for this? $RDDT [image] Brad Gerstner / @altcap : Congrats $RDDT. IPO “windows” are a myth. Public market are always open. Its just that equity risk premiums move up and down and so IPO pricing must change to reflect that reality. The company selling shares just needs to decide if they are will to accept that price. 👊 [image] Alexis Ohanian / @alexisohanian : June 23, 2005. Version One of @Reddit. My first post ever was a link to the Downing Street Memo. Ship early. Ship often. [image] @borrowed_ideas : I explored this question last year “I think the primary reason is the business of social media likely changed forever.” https://www.mbi-deepdives.com/ ... [image] George Hadjia / @ghadjia : Just remember that Facebook in 2009 had similar revenues ($777m) to $RDDT today yet had 34% operating margins vs -17% for Reddit. The lack of cost discipline at $RDDT is truly astonishing. For every dollar of revenue they're paying 55c for R&D and I can't figure out what for Alexei Oreskovic / @lexnfx : The floodgates are open... [image] Tero Kuittinen / @teroterotero : Hitting $53 now... Reddit and Wingstop, emblems of heartland America are now dominating equity markets... this is the Biden boom. Tero Kuittinen / @teroterotero : Waohhhh... Reddit edging to $50 already... roaring Biden boom time is here Cory Weinberg / @coryweinberg : Ah, IPO froth is back. Reddit opening at $8.7B looks a little silly? https://www.reuters.com/... [image] @nyse : Live from Snoo York: @Reddit rings the opening bell! https://twitter.com/... Helen Tran / @tranhelen : lol @ Reddit at 6.5B get outta here Amber Illig / @amberillig : I don't know Alexis and I wasn't an early employee at or investor in Reddit. But I love the way this guy leads. What a story. Congrats on $RDDT! Jared Friedman / @snowmaker : Having the Reddit alien ring the bell perfectly captures the irreverent spirit of the Reddit community - and its founders. Michael Seibel / @mwseibel : Congrats to @Reddit and Steve - almost 20 years in the making! [image] Edwin / @edwinarbus : A huge congrats to @alexisohanian and the @Reddit team on the IPO. Reddit Gold was the first purchase I made with the “Powered by Stripe” label (~2014) and it's been awesome to see them grow over time with us through creator payouts and millions of collectible avatars. Michael Seibel / @mwseibel : Big day today: [image] Soraya Darabi / @sorayadarabi : As Reddit approaches an IPO nearly two decades since inception, it's easy to forget just how profound the company's imprint on the internet has been. #Reddit revolutionized how content is shared and consumed, but also showed us all the power of online communities. Alexia Bonatsos / @alexia : Reddit is a prime example of the power of perseverance and resilience in business. It was not the clear category winner. https://x.com/... Alexis Ohanian / @alexisohanian : We did it, mom. $RDDT IPO. [video] Will Larson / @lethain : Perhaps relevant on a day like today when folks spend time reworking the narrative around Digg, Digg vs Reddit, and Digg v4. (tl;dr failure to respond effectively to google search changes killed Digg, not the v4 launch, not competition with Reddit) https://lethain.com/... @can : Always a great read and not just because you can the back of my head in this photo. Serena Williams / @serenawilliams : In 2005 @alexisohanian had an idea to start an online community. That idea became Reddit and today is its IPO Alexis I am so proud of you as a business man, My man and a dad. Congrats on your IPO! It's crazy to know you have even bigger things you are doing ! 😍😍 Alexis Ohanian / @alexisohanian : I wrote this email to Steve to try and convince him to join my company back in 2004 after my Waffle House epiphany. Jo Ling Kent / @jolingkent : Apple on DOJ's suit, in part: “This lawsuit threatens who we are...It would also set a dangerous precedent empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people's technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts + the law, & we will vigorously defend against it” Rat King / @mikeisaac : Condé Nast makes out well on the Reddit IPO, reaping $1.4 billion on an initial investment of $10 million in 2006 by @grynbaum & me https://www.nytimes.com/... Thomas Maxwell / @tomaxwell : How many points does it fall on day 1? Yuri Sagalov / @yuris : Reddit is not the first YC IPO but it feels like a particularly important one. The first company from the very first batch. Katie Roof / @katie_roof : Broke the news that Reddit hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman to lead its IPO in January 2022. It was true...just early 🤣 @akhenosiris : Patiently waiting for when Reddit gets in the spotlight for hosting tons of questionable content. 4chan light shall we say. No other publicly traded company hosts as much filth. I could care less, but feels like soon Zuck will be getting a reprieve as Reddit gets the 🎯 Forums: r/stupidpol : Reddit shares open 38% above IPO price in robust market debut r/news : Reddit Climbs 38% After Raising $748 Million in Top Priced IPO r/technology : Reddit pops as much as 70% in NYSE debut after trading at top of range r/wallstreetbets : Reddit pops 38% in NYSE debut to open at $47 per share r/CryptoCurrencyMoons : Reddit is going to open up 50% on its IPO - Moons to follow? See also Mediagazer
Bloomberg
Context & Ripple Effects
Reddit entered public trading after pricing at the top of its stated range, a step that followed disclosures of rising revenue, narrowing losses, and 73M daily active users in 2023. The debut puts a market price on a business whose earlier private valuation was about $1.7B in 2017.
The offering also brought users into the shareholder base through an allocation for selected moderators and high-karma contributors, while the S-1 highlighted Reddit’s reliance on 60K active daily volunteer moderators. That combination makes the company’s public-market transition unusually tied to its community governance model.
First-order effects
A 48% first-day gain lifted Reddit’s fully diluted value to roughly $9.5B, close to its 2021 private-market mark and well above the nearly $6.5B valuation implied when it priced shares at $34.
Reddit has raised about $748M through the IPO, while Condé Nast realized roughly $1.4B from its original investment; RDDT now has a daily public valuation rather than an episodic private one.
Second-order effects
The strong close gives Reddit a favorable public reference point for future capital-market decisions, but also raises the visibility of whether revenue growth and user engagement can support the post-debut valuation.
Moderators and other users who received IPO access now have a more direct financial connection to Reddit’s share price, increasing the importance of managing the tension between community participation and shareholder expectations.
Third-order effects
If public investors continue to reward community platforms, IPO pricing may increasingly be determined by demonstrated monetization and user scale rather than a return to prior private valuations.
Reddit’s listing tests whether platforms built on volunteer governance can sustain public-company accountability without weakening the contributor relationships that underpin their content and engagement.
The trend: Community-driven internet platforms are moving from private, growth-led valuations to continuous public-market scrutiny of monetization, engagement, and governance.
Many people are surprised to see how Reddit's financials: -17% operating margin whereas Meta (then Facebook) at similar revenue posted +34% operating margin. Why is there such a discrepancy? I explored this question last year “I think the primary reason is the business of socia…
Reddit is selling itself as an AI story: It hinges on selling user data for AI training, making you the product, whether you pay or not. At least Jen Wong, Reddit COO, is honest about it.
Just remember that Facebook in 2009 had similar revenues ($777m) to $RDDT today yet had 34% operating margins vs -17% for Reddit. The lack of cost discipline at $RDDT is truly astonishing. For every dollar of revenue they're paying 55c for R&D and I can't figure out what for
I explored this question last year “I think the primary reason is the business of social media likely changed forever.” https://www.mbi-deepdives.com/ ... [image]
Congrats $RDDT. IPO “windows” are a myth. Public market are always open. Its just that equity risk premiums move up and down and so IPO pricing must change to reflect that reality. The company selling shares just needs to decide if they are will to accept that price. 👊 [image]
A huge congrats to @alexisohanian and the @Reddit team on the IPO. Reddit Gold was the first purchase I made with the “Powered by Stripe” label (~2014) and it's been awesome to see them grow over time with us through creator payouts and millions of collectible avatars.
As Reddit approaches an IPO nearly two decades since inception, it's easy to forget just how profound the company's imprint on the internet has been. #Reddit revolutionized how content is shared and consumed, but also showed us all the power of online communities.
Perhaps relevant on a day like today when folks spend time reworking the narrative around Digg, Digg vs Reddit, and Digg v4. (tl;dr failure to respond effectively to google search changes killed Digg, not the v4 launch, not competition with Reddit) https://lethain.com/...
In 2005 @alexisohanian had an idea to start an online community. That idea became Reddit and today is its IPO Alexis I am so proud of you as a business man, My man and a dad. Congrats on your IPO! It's crazy to know you have even bigger things you are doing ! 😍😍
Condé Nast makes out well on the Reddit IPO, reaping $1.4 billion on an initial investment of $10 million in 2006 by @grynbaum & me https://www.nytimes.com/...
Patiently waiting for when Reddit gets in the spotlight for hosting tons of questionable content. 4chan light shall we say. No other publicly traded company hosts as much filth. I could care less, but feels like soon Zuck will be getting a reprieve as Reddit gets the 🎯
From the first batch of YC to IPO day! Thanks for building something that's such a delightful part of our lives. Congrats @Reddit, @redditspez & @alexisohanian.
“So I called Steve and Alexis and said that we liked them, just not their idea, so we'd fund them if they'd work on something else. They were on the train home to Virginia at that point. They got off at the next station and got on the next train north, and by the end of the day..…
“Reddit the site (and now app) is such a fundamentally useful thing that it's almost unkillable. Which is why, despite a long stretch after Steve left when the management strategy ranged from benign neglect to spectacular blunders, traffic just kept growing. You can't do that...
I went to UVA, where @alexisohanian and Steve met to start Reddit Alexis came to UVA my second year (2014) for a startup event & gave me feedback on what I was building. Shared his contact, asked me to ping him I'd just moved from India and this was pretty motivating Go Hoos