WeWork is warning there’s “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business over the next year because of its financial losses and its need for cash, among other factors.
The New York-based workspace-sharing company said Tuesday that its ability to stay in operation is contingent upon improving its liquidity and profitability over the next 12 months.
WeWork went public in October 2021 after a spectacular collapse during its first attempt to do so two years earlier — which led to the ousting of its CEO and founder, Adam Neumann. The company was valued at $47 billion at one point, before investors started to drop off due to Neumann's erratic behavior and exorbitant spending.
The company leases buildings and divides them into office spaces to sublet to its members, which include small businesses, startups and freelancers who want to avoid paying for permanent office space.
But over time its operating expenses soared and it relied on repeated cash infusions from private investors. The company also said Tuesday it is facing high member turnover rates. It said it plans to negotiate more favorable lease terms, control spending and seek additional capital by issuing debt, stock or selling assets.
WeWork's interim CEO, David Tolley, sounded an optimistic note Tuesday in the company's results for the second-quarter, during which it lost $349 million.
"The company’s transformation continues at pace, with a laser focus on member retention and growth, doubling down on our real estate portfolio optimization efforts, and maintaining a disciplined approach to reducing operating costs," Tolley said.
Oracle soars as it cashes in on the AI boom, Plus: Starbucks shares continue to fall under its new CEO, and does anybody actually want a new iPhone Air?
Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.
