SurveyMonkey opens at $18.75 per share, well above its $12 IPO pricing, as it increases shares for sale from 13.5M to 15M, raising $180M
Sara Salinas / CNBC :
Context & Ripple Effects
SurveyMonkey's debut caps an arc that started in January, when sources said the polling company was preparing to go public after being valued at $2B in 2014. The August filing showed a business seeking just $100M on $121.2M of first-half revenue against a $27.18M net loss, and by mid-September it had set a modest $9-to-$11 range targeting $135M at the midpoint.
The final deal tells a different story: priced at $12 — above that range — with shares upsized from 13.5M to 15M for a $180M raise, then opening at $18.75. That follows two 2018 templates already on the board: Dropbox pricing above an already-increased range and opening up ~40%, while Sonos priced below its expected range yet still closed its first day up 32%.
First-order effects
- SurveyMonkey banks $180M — well past the $100M it originally sought — while buyers at the $12 IPO price hold stock worth $18.75 within hours, a 56% paper gain.
- The company enters public trading above the $1.3B valuation implied by its September private placement, resetting its reference point for future raises.
Second-order effects
- Bankers running upcoming tech deals now have three 2018 data points — Dropbox, Sonos, SurveyMonkey — showing first-day pops even when pricing misses the range, strengthening the case for conservative pricing to guarantee a positive debut.
- Late-stage SaaS peers watching SurveyMonkey convert a money-losing first half into a hot listing face pressure to file while the window is open.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — ranges raised, deals upsized, opens far above price — 2018's tech IPO market is structurally leaving money on the table for issuers in exchange for momentum, a trade-off that shapes how the whole pipeline prices.
- A reliable aftermarket for unprofitable-but-growing software names would extend the exit path beyond profitable companies, widening which business models can reach public markets.
The trend: Tech issuers in 2018 are pricing IPOs conservatively relative to demand, then watching them open sharply higher — a deliberate underpricing cycle that keeps the listing pipeline moving.