Vroom, an online used-car marketplace, got an enthusiastic reception from investors when it began trading on the Nasdaq Tuesday.
The stock $VRM soared 117 percent, doubling its IPO price of $22 a share.
Unlike businesses around the country that have struggled to make it through coronavirus lockdown restrictions, Vroom thrived.
"Customers are now appreciating our model even more than before [with] contact-free delivery and contact-free sales practices," Paul Hennessy, CEO of Vroom told Cheddar Wednesday.
Comparing the first quarter of 2019 to this year, Vroom saw substantial growth in the number of vehicles available on its mobile platform and average monthly users.
Cheddar
"Once we knew that we had some tailwinds in our business, we absolutely thought this was the right time to go, and we took advantage of that," Hennessy said. "It's a great day for our company, a great day for employees, and a real testament to the model."
Vroom has had a strong showing raising capital in the private markets. In December, the company announced a $254 million Series H financing round.
Illustration by Rob Jejenich/Cheddar
Vroom intends to invest the capital raised in the public markets into the marketing and development of its platform.
Though recent surveys the company has done suggest that customer willingness to buy a car online has doubled in three months, Hennessy doesn't believe that Vroom is only surging in popularity because of the pandemic.
"We see these changes as absolutely structural," Hennessy said. "Now we want to work even harder to deliver for our customers and deliver for our shareholders."
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
