Klarna and StubHub reportedly pause going public with stock market in free fall over Trump tariffs
- Klarna and StubHub will hold back on their IPOs after the stock market collapsed over Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Both companies were scheduled to pitch to investors next week, but have put their roadshows on hold.
Klarna and StubHub have reportedly delayed IPO plans after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs caused a roughly $6 trillion loss on the stock market last week.
Due to the recent market meltdown, the two companies will hold off on going public for the near future and have no timeline to reinstate their plans, an unnamed source told CNBC.
StubHub had planned a roadshow next week, but that's now on ice, according to The Wall Street Journal. Similarly, Klarna postponed plans to pitch to investors next week, WSJ said. Both companies declined Fortune’s request for comment.
StubHub worried investors would not have time to meet with the company amid the market troubles and feared that going public during the turbulence might look desperate, sources told the WSJ.
This is the second time StubHub has postponed its offering. Last summer, the ticketing marketplace decided to delay its IPO due to the slow new-listings market.
StubHub planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker STUB. In 2024, the company sought a valuation of at least $16.5 billion.
StubHub reported a $2.8 million loss on revenue of $1.77 billion in 2024. One year prior, the company earned $405 million on $1.37 billion in revenue, according to its S-1 filing. The loss came from a sales and advertising push, which boosted expenses by $310 million to $828 million.
Klarna specializes in buy now, pay later loans and most recently partnered with DoorDash to enable users to pay for meal deliveries in installments.
The company planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker KLAR, targeting a valuation of $15 billion. Klarna was previously valued in 2022 at $6.7 billion.
Shares of Klarna’s competitor Affirm have cratered 46% this year, falling 8% Friday alone. Affirm's market cap has fallen to $11.4 billion, lower than Klarna's valuation target.
Klarna previously warned tariffs could pose a risk for growth. In its IPO filing last month, the company said “a downturn in the general environment or a slower pace of economic growth” caused by changes in international trade policies, new tariffs, and immigration policies “can lead to consumer spending and adversely affect the financial condition of our merchants.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com