By Khadijah Robinson
- Klarna and StubHub have paused their IPOs amid rising global tariffs and shaky investor confidence
- Klarna’s valuation plummeted by 85%, dropping from $45.6B in 2021 to $6.7B in 2022
Major tech-based corporations like Klarna and StubHub are putting their public debut plans on ice, and investors are taking notice. Klarna, once Europe’s most valuable fintech with a $45.6 billion valuation, has officially paused its IPO plans. StubHub, the popular ticket resale platform, backed out of IPO plans this year as well. Why? Market volatility has scarred even the most bullish investors, and thanks to rising global tariffs and shaky interest rates, liquidity events are looking like a further-off dream.
Why This Matters: The IPO party seems to be turning dry as even heavily-anticipated IPOs of 2025 underperform – or are taken off the table altogether. Klarna’s own journey reflects this turbulence. After reaching a peak valuation of $45.6 billion in June 2021, the company faced a dramatic downturn. By July 2022, its valuation had plummeted to $6.7 billion following an $800 million funding round—a staggering 85% drop in just over a year. This retreat sends a clear message: confidence is cracked.
Analysts now predict just 150 IPOs will happen in 2025—if that. For context, that’s less than half of what we saw in 2021, continuing a four-year slide. Even those once deemed “golden children” aren’t safe. NVIDIA, one of the year’s flashiest IPOs, dropped 15% in a week after its initial offering. This isn’t completely uncommon or unheard of, but does reinforce the chill taking over the public markets.
Situational Awareness: This IPO slowdown doesn’t just impact Wall Street—it hits Main Street too. Fewer IPOs mean fewer opportunities for everyday investors, especially Black investors trying to build wealth through startup equity. And when startups stay private, the big wins stay locked behind closed doors of venture firms, private equity outfits, banks, and investors from certain walks of life. It also raises red flags for culture-forward brands trying to scale. The dream of becoming the next Fenty Beauty or BLK & Bold? Harder to fund when investor pipelines dry up. The ripple effects are real as liquidity dries up and IPOs become a lot less…open.
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