*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).
Miami's real estate market has boomed since early 2020, thanks to an overall strong housing market, remote work, and no income tax as incentives. The city is preparing to welcome even more residents as people relocate to warmer climates to work from home. Garrett Derderian, director of market intelligence at SERHANT, joined Cheddar to discuss the Magic City's red hot market.
Rockstar Energy, a subsidiary of Pepsico, unveiled its new beverage brand, Rockstar Unplugged, changing up the energy drink formula with hemp seed oil as an ingredient. PepsiCo Energy CMO Fabiola Torres joined Cheddar News to talk about how the product promotes “good vibes” and allows consumers to unwind and discuss partnering with "MTV Unplugged" for a concert series. "We couldn't find a better partnership that MTV," she said. "MTV Unplugged has been such an iconic proposition … and we believe that we're the right partners because the insight of our proposition for Rockstar Unplugged comes from music.
Eight months after the National Football League announced $1 million in research into cannabinoids, the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee has awarded the funding to two teams of medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina. The NFL says the studies will investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion in elite football players, respectively. Cheddar correspondent Chloe Ailello spoke with Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and policy for the NFL, about the studies, as well as the recent lawsuit filed against the NFL by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. "Maybe we can learn things from other alternative pain approaches that are going to benefit our player population and then sports medicine as a whole," Miller said.
All Hands celebrates Black History Month by highlighting achievements in inclusivity and paying homage to those who have fought for equal rights. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) joins Cheddar News to discuss voter suppression; Damali Peterman, CEO of Breakthrough ADR, elaborates on the biggest barriers for Black professionals; Andre Perry, senior fellow of Brookings Institution, dives into student loans and the racial wealth divide; and lastly, BET CEO Scott Mills discusses the company's initiatives for 2022.
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
According to the Federal Reserve, the investment gap between Black and white Americans has remained substantial, with only 34 percent of Black households joining in on the historic rise in the markets. Stacey Tisdale, the first Black woman to have reported from the NYSE and the CEO and president of Mind Money Media Inc., said that the data might not be as disheartening as it seems. "I think that number is very deceiving. That Federal Reserve study is actually from 2019, and it's very important that we all look beneath that number and look beneath the surface because there is nothing short of an investing revolution going on in the Black community," Tisdale said.
