Investors hungry for a sizeable IPO have another deal to check out this week.

Klaviyo, a Boston-based data-based marketing firm, filed its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday and is preparing to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “KVYO.” Klaviyo did not disclose specifics regarding total units or pricing, instead registering with a placeholder sum of $100 million. It has not disclosed a date for the launch but stated it aims to launch “as soon as practicable.”

The company, which was founded in 2012, is a SAAS (software as a service) business that provides a vertically integrated purpose-built platform to leverage customers’ first-party data to deliver impactful consumer experiences.

According to its prospectus, Klaviyo has rebounded from the red and is currently profitable. 

Klaviyo reported a net income of $15.2 million for the first six half of 2023, while it suffered a net loss of $24.6 million during the same period last year. Its total revenue is also up. It generated around $321 million for the first two quarters of 2023 compared with roughly $208 million in the first six months of 2022.

Its user base is also growing. Klaviyo claims it had over 130,000 customers at the end of June, an almost 25% increase from its roughly 105,000 consumers from a year ago.

Klaviyo is coming to market with some large industry players behind it. Canadian drop shipping titan Shopify holds about 11% of Klaviyo’s stock, having previously invested $100 million in the company. 

This listing, along with others made this week, including e-commerce platform Instacart and especially semiconductor designer Arm, is generating buzz that the IPO market may be about to turn a corner.

Within Arm’s Reach 

Although equities have performed well this year, the IPO market has not seen much of a turnaround. 

 Just $14 billion has been generated through US IPOs so far this year, a minuscule sum compared to the $241 billion raised by August in 2021. In terms of deal volume, the first six months of this year saw 63 companies go public in the U.S., a marginal improvement from the 51 IPOs launched in the first half of 2022 but trailing far behind the bonanza of 2021, when a total of 416 companies listed.  

Yet since Softbank-owned British semiconductor chip designer Arm recently announced it would launch next month, the mood is shifting. 

Some market analysts see the firm – which is expected to raise between $60-70 billion – as having the magnitude to deliver the jolt needed to jolt the IPO market out of its flunk and get more deals flowing. 

“If the listing is received well, it could bolster confidence in the public markets, which could in turn spur more companies to list,” writes TechCrunch’s Alex Wilhelm. “For the hundreds of unicorns currently stuck in the private markets, that could be big news.”

Whether or not the IPO floodgates open or not, the arrival of Klaviyo and other profitable brands is a promising sign for investors. 

Investors who see more growth potential in intranet marketing platforms will want to keep an eye out for this deal.

Previously posted at Wealth of Geeks.

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