Stripe tells employees it will decide on an IPO within the next year

Stripe, the fintech company once valued at $95 billion by private market investors, will make a decision on its plans to go public within the next year, CNBC has confirmed.

Co-founders and brothers John and Patrick Collison told employees on Thursday that they will set a goal of taking the company public or letting staffers sell shares through a secondary offering, The Information first reported.

The tech IPO market has been frozen since late 2021 after two record-breaking years during the Covid pandemic. Late-stage private companies were forced to delay their plans and, in many cases, raise cash at reduced valuations in 2022, as higher interest rates, recessionary concerns and a plummeting stock market altered the tech landscape.

In July, Stripe cut its internal valuation by 28%, from $95 billion to $74 billion. Earlier this month, The Information reported that Stripe again lowered its valuation to $63 billion.

Stripe, which provides payments software for e-commerce businesses, topped CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list in 2020.

Founded in 2010, Stripe’s business took off as the U.S. economy and labor market began to recover from the financial crisis. Revenue was turbocharged during Covid from the boom in e-commerce. But in November, the company laid off roughly 14% of its staff as the Nasdaq headed for its worst year since 2008.

“We were much too optimistic about the internet economy’s near-term growth in 2022 and 2023 and underestimated both the likelihood and impact of a broader slowdown,” the founders wrote in a memo announcing the layoffs. They said they now have to build “differently for leaner times.”

Stripe is considering a direct listing or private market transaction and has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to advise on the deal, CNBC has learned.

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