Sonos Public Listing Comes As Investor Appetite for Tech IPOs Grows
Smart speaker maker Sonos has officially filed to go public.
The company, which confidentially filed for an IPO in April, could raise as much as $100 million in the offering and could be valued at as much as $3 billion.
According to its regulatory filings, Sonos brought in revenue of over $1 billion in the 12 months ending in March. It posted a profit of $13.1 million in the first half of its fiscal year, slightly lower than the $15 million brought in the previous year. Over the last 12 months though, the company posted a loss of about $16 million.
Sonos, founded in 2002, pioneered the wireless speaker space, creating a product that allowed people to have multiple speakers playing different audio at the same time. Its original competitors were the likes of Bose and Bang & Olufsen.
After Apple, Google, and Amazon entered the field, the company scrambled to compete in the rapidly changing landscape by launching smart speakers powered by Amazon’s Alexa. The company’s products can also seamlessly integrate with external streaming systems and voice assistants, including Spotify and Apple Music.
Sonos is betting that its flexibility will be attractive to investors, said Wall Street Journal reporter Maureen Farrell.
“Part of the appeal, and this is obviously something that they really tout and will thoroughly be touting on the roadshow, is that they can partner with all of these companies,” said Farrell, who broke the story that the company was looking to go public in April.
“They obviously have huge competition, but I think what they’re betting on is that you get one of them in your house, or a couple, you really like it, and then they have this moat around them.”
Sonos would join more than a dozen tech companies that made a public debut this year in an attempt to capitalize on growing investor appetite for tech stocks, said Farrell.
“Last year we saw some pretty disastrous IPOs,” she said, alluding to Snap’s turbulent public offering. “It’s been such an incredibly different landscape this year."
"Tech IPOs are up more than 50 percent year-to-date," said Farrell.
"It just seems like investors right now are clamoring for anything tech-ish.”
Sonos plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker "SONO."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/sonos-likely-to-raise-more-than-100-million-in-ipo)
New York City ride-hailing app drivers are about to get a pay raise. According to the city's Mayor Eric Adams, New York will increase its minimum driver pay rate for both Uber and Lyft drivers. This means both platforms would now be required to pay their drivers a minimum of $1.61 cents per mile and about 0.50 cents per minute. Ultimately, the move would give riders at least a 5.3% race. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
While many still remain skeptical about the metaverse, big tech firms and even one big bank are ready to expand their virtual worlds. Facebook parent company has pivoted so hard it will now call its employees 'Metamates,' and even JPMorgan Chase has created its own digital lounge on one virtual platform. While the sector remains young, there seems to be significant investment opportunity, especially with companies like Nvidia. Adam Johnson, a portfolio strategist at Adviser Investments, joins Closing Bell to discuss which companies could win in this space, consumer appetite, and more.
Marc Blinder, Co-Founder and CEO of Aikon, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses how his company is helping businesses use blockchain applications without needing to learn the intricacies of the new technology.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a new bill to afford greater protection to minors on social media. The genesis of the Kids Online Safety Act came from a Facebook whistleblower case exposing the harm apps can have on the mental health of young girls.
