Dorsey Celebrates Birthday with Successful Square IPO
Shares of Square Inc. SQ, the mobile payments solution founded and run by Twitter TWTR CEO Jack Dorsey, are up nearly 44% in their first day on the market today.
Despite settling for an IPO price of $9 per share, well below its original $11-$13 range, Square has had a successful day so far. For Dorsey, today marks the second time in just over two years that the young entrepreneur has brought a multi-billion dollar company to the market—but it’s also his 39th birthday!
Square, which was founded in 2009, has been heavily invested in prior to today’s public debut. However, the company reported a loss of $131.5 million in the first nine months of 2015. This has already surpassed last year’s loss of $117 million, despite revenue rising 49%.
(Also read: 7 Things to Know About Square).
The focus now is very much on Dorsey, who told CNBC that Square broke even in the second quarter this year, as investors wonder how he will juggle his positions at Square and Twitter. Dorsey is Square’s biggest shareholder with a 21.9% stake in the company after the IPO.
The San Francisco-based company sold 25.7 million of its common shares in today’s offering, with Start Small Foundation, a Dorsey-created charity, sold another 1.35 million. At $9 per share, today’s IPO raised about $243 million.
Before today’s IPO, nearly three quarters of Dorsey’s wealth was tied to Square. In paper value, today’s gains netted the dapper billionaire nearly $300 billion. Despite a rough year for Twitter, Dorsey’s net worth has topped $1.5 billion.
Here’s a look at Square’s performance today:
Make sure to check back later for our full write-up on Square first day on the market!
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