Reddit reportedly revives plans to go public, but it's likely to be worth way less than the $15 billion it once hoped for

NurPhoto/Getty Images

NurPhoto/Getty Images

• Social media platform Reddit is looking to go public later in 2023, The Information reported Tuesday.
• But it's likely worth much less than the $15 billion hoped for when it filed its IPO in December 2021. 
• Reddit's growth exploded in early 2021 as the incubator for the meme stock craze for retail investors.

Reddit, the birthplace of the meme stock craze, is reviving its plan to go public, The Information reported — but the social media platform is likely to be worth way less than its once hoped-for $15 billion valuation.

The company is planning to list on the stock exchange in the second half of 2023 through an initial public offering, The Information reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Back in December 2021, Reddit said it had confidentially filed papers to begin the process for an IPO. Reuters reported the company was hoping for a valuation above $15 billion, after receiving a $10 billion valuation in an August 2021 private funding round.

Reddit was the incubator for the meme stock rally of early 2021, where retail traders conformed on the subreddit r/Wallstreetbets to initiate short squeezes on low-value companies like GameStop, Bed Bath & Beyond and AMC. This also drove usage and revenues to Reddit, appearing to boost plans for an IPO.

However, Reddit's markdown if and when it goes public is now likely to be considerable. Fidelity recently valued the group at $6.6 billion, per The Information, more than half its previous reported value.

The social media company's continued lack of profitability helped impede its IPO, according to The Information's sources. But at the same time, tech and social media stocks more broadly have received a battering since Reddit's December 2021 filing, with the Nasdaq falling 33.1% over the course of 2022.

Rising interest rates and high inflation reduced the appeal of tech stocks in particular for investors last year.  Meanwhile, a stormy market for digital ads had profound effects on social media companies and their earnings outlooks.

At the same time, the number of IPOs collapsed last year from record levels in 2021 as confidence ebbed, per PwC. 

A rebound in markets this year, which has seen the Nasdaq rise more than 14% so far, sets the stage better for Reddit's ambitions to finally go public.

Reddit didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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