*By Madison Alworth*
The race between Uber and Lyft to go public first may spur companies outside the rideshare space to come to market too.
One such company might be delivery service Postmates, said Wall Street Journal reporter Maureen Farrell.
"Until really this year, these really well-capitalized, fast-growing companies ー we heard about them for so long, and we knew that they were waiting as long as possible to tap the market," Farrell said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
"Now it seems like almost the opposite. These companies are getting a ton of capital in the private market, but they are going out there and trying to go to the public market sooner than later.”
Farrell said Postmates has interviewed bankers, though hasn't picked underwriters yet. "But it's a clear step in the direction towards an IPO."
"I know their CEO has been kind of vocal about wanting to go in 2019 and saying they’re ready."
An offering from Postmates would add to an already-stacked docket for IPOs next year ー and some lofty valuations.
Bankers are reportedly saying Uber could be valued as high as $120 billion in its offering, double its valuation after a fundraising round two months ago. And Lyft, after choosing its underwriters, could reach a valuation of $15.1 billion. It remains to be seen whether these valuations will stick once the Silicon Valley stars hit Wall Street.
"I think there could be a huge variation in what the market will think about Uber and Lyft," Farrell said. "They’re both unprofitable, they’re very fast growing, there are so many different factors at play."
One factor is whether investors have enough appetite for two publicly traded rideshare companies ー if Uber makes it to market first, will investors who buy in also want shares of Lyft? Conversely, if Lyft wins the race and performs well, it could set the stage for its bigger counterpart.
"If Lyft could essentially set a baseline, and Uber could be valued off of them ー assuming it goes well ー public investors would have had time to understand and digest this whole new business model there could be upside for Uber there."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/ride-sharing-companies-racing-toward-a-2019-ipo).
President Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports to the U.S. in response to its invasion of Ukraine, a move he warned could lead to an even greater surge in gas prices. The ban is prompting a conversation about the current oil production levels in the U.S. and whether or not the industry can ramp up production to soften the blow to American families at the gas pump. Clark Williams-Derry, Energy Finance Analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, breaks down the state of the U.S. oil industry and how the ban might impact production levels here at home.
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are the latest American food brands to have halted business operations in Russia after having faced scrutiny and criticism for originally failing to do so amid the country's invasion of Ukraine.
As Russia intensifies its war on Ukraine, President Biden announced a ban on oil imported from the aggressor nation. Critics of Russia have said this would be the best way to force Putin to pull back, but curbs on Russian oil exports are expected to send already skyrocketing oil and gas prices even higher, further impacting consumers, businesses, financial markets, and the global economy. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "It's certainly going to increase pricing, but it is the right thing to do," she said. "The industry itself has already pulled out of the significant portion of its operations in Russia."
As airlines recover from COVID-19 and the industry becomes more competitive than ever, low-fare carrier Breeze Airlines is offering 35 new routes and reduced prices for its first-class experiences. CEO David Neeleman joined Cheddar News to talk about the rollout of services amid plenty of headwinds including high fuel costs. "We can limit a lot of costs because we're a technology company that happens to fly airplanes," he noted.
Despite women as a whole being among the groups most impacted by pandemic job losses, homesharing platform Airbnb reported that women hosts brought in $12 billion in revenue last year. Catherine Powell, Airbnb's global head of hosting, joined Cheddar News to discuss how women hosting has become a huge asset for the company. "Last year 21 percent more women joined the platform than men," she said. "So they are joining the platform. They are being successful. They're more super hosts, and they're doing incredibly well."
