Sources: Uber will issue its public S-1 and start its IPO roadshow in April
Context & Ripple Effects
Uber's public S-1 in April is the payoff of a timeline that has been building since CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in May 2018 the company was on track for a 2019 listing, followed by its confidential December filing. The move comes weeks after Lyft, which hired an adviser back in August 2018 specifically to list ahead of Uber, launches its own roadshow the week of March 18.
The sequencing matters: Lyft's roadshow will effectively price the ride-hailing category before Uber faces investors, giving Uber's bankers a live read on demand while Uber's own S-1 lands in April.
First-order effects
- Public-market investors get their first full look at Uber's financials when the S-1 publishes, ending years of private-market-only disclosure ahead of an early-May trading debut per the later coverage.
Second-order effects
- Lyft's $20B-$25B IPO target becomes the immediate benchmark Uber must clear or discount against, since both companies will be marketing to the same institutional buyers within weeks of each other.
Third-order effects
- If both listings price near their targets, ride-hailing shifts from a private-capital story to one judged quarterly by public markets, forcing both companies to defend losses with disclosed unit economics rather than growth narratives alone.
The trend: The 2019 class of venture-backed unicorns is moving from confidential filings to public listings in rapid succession, with Lyft and Uber racing each other to market.