10 IPOs We Are Looking Forward to in 2018

An IPO, or an initial public offering, is the first time that a private company offers stock to the public, looking to be publicly traded. Frequently offers by smaller or younger companies, we have included 10 of the most exciting IPOs for the year of 2018.

Which companies would you like to see offered in 2018? These are the top ten IPOs we are looking forward to in 2018. From Spotify to 23andMe, each of these companies will be offering their stock to be publicly traded this year. Which excites you the most? We can't decide.

Spotify

Spotify is first on our list of the IPOs we are looking forward to this year. Spotify is a European company that falls into the music streaming category with competitors such as Pandora, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Google Music.

Among the IPOs of 2018, Spotify is certainly one of the most exciting for investors. With over 60 million customers, Spotify has a high demand for their IPO, as well as many institutions looking to participate. In fact, some analysts say that Spotify may even have a wider appeal than Netflix.

Lyft

Next, on our list of the best IPOs we are looking forward to in 2018 is Lyft. The competition for Uber, Lyft is one of the most successful ridesharing apps available.

Though not as popular as Uber around the world, one of the most appealing parts of this company is that they have Alphabet as an investor, helping the company to raise one billion dollars back in September of 2017. Today, they have a valuation of approximately $10 billion. Lyft spokeswoman, Alexandra LaManna said:

“We will go public when it’s right for us,”

Pinterest

Pinterest is an incredibly successful social network that provides a platform for relatable images, GIFs, videos, recipes, ideas, and tips and tricks.

The CEO of Pinterest, Ben Silbermann, described the company as a "catalog of ideas to inspire the user to go out and do that thing" they've always wanted to. The company is currently valued at $12 billion after raising $150 million from a group of existing investors in June of 2017. Not bad for a website filled with helpful images.

BarkBox

Barkbox is next on our list of the IPOs we are looking forward to this year. As a subscription service for your pups, the customer will receive a box of all-natural treats each month, plus some adorable toys your dogs will love.

BarkBox has shipped their product over 50 million times since 2012, and looks forward to reaching an even broader audience. At the end of 2017, they posted $150 million in revenues, with over 500,000 subscribers to their service. Plus, they have investors of both Chewy.com and PetSmart.

Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com is the largest genealogy profit company in the world. After a 2.6 billion transaction completed by Silver Lake and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund taking Ancestry.com private in 2016, Silver Lake's CEO stated,

“Ancestry’s rapidly expanding consumer DNA testing service has powerful network effects and widespread consumer appeal.”

Now that their competitor, 23andMe, has also announced going public, Ancestry.com will once again return to the public markets while still keeping their momentum, having their revenues jump by 30 percent in the past year.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a file hosting service that allows you to upload and share files online, operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc.

As one of the top IPOs we are looking forward to in 2018, Dropbox was founded in 2007, and by the end of 2017, the CEO announced that they had secured a $600 million credit line as the company prepared to file for its initial public offering in the new year. By February of 2018, the stock rose 42 percent to 29.89 in its first day of trading.

Acquia

Aquia was co-founded by Dries Buytaert and Jay Batson as a software-as-a-service company. As a company made to provide enterprise services, products, and technical support, they specialize in providing the open-source web content management platform, Drupal. Venture capital-backed, they received in eight rounds of fundraising $173.5 million.

Some of their investors include New Enterprise Associates, Amazon, Investor Grown Capital, and North Bridge Venture Partners. Receiving industry recognition, the company has even been referred to as a "Leader" by Gartner Magic Quadrant by Web Content Mangement in 2014.

Airbnb

Next on our list of the top IPOs we are looking forward to is Airbnb. An extremely popular app and website for travelers, it allows users to rent out your home or room as well as rent a house for the weekend while away on vacation.

Typically cheaper than spending the weekend at a hotel, Airbnb offers a great alternative for travelers on a budget. Expected to be one of the biggest tech unicorns to IPO in 2018, there is much anticipation for this IPO.

23andMe

We couldn't mention Ancestory.com without also mentioning its competition, 23andMe. A privately owned genomics and biotechnology company, 23andMe became the first business to offer autosomal DNA testing.

With saliva-based testing, the company was even named invention of the year by Time magazine. Valued at $1.5 billion as of September 2017, this totals over one billion dollars being made since 2016.

Zuora

Last, but not least, on our list of the IPOs we are looking forward to is Zuora. An enterprise software company, Zuora designs and sells applications by SaaS for companies that use a subscription business model. These applications are created for commerce, finance operations, and to use automatic billing.

Watch out for Zuora's stock in 2018, as they don't get as much attention as they should. With a respected CEO and founder on Wall Street, Tien Tzuo, the company is innovative and successful.