Snowflake — The Information

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Pricing

Snowflake

Why it was one to watch: Snowflake's IPO was the most highly anticipated of all the enterprise software stocks going public in September. The company's revenues are growing quickly and investor demand appears high, reflected in Snowflake's raising its pricing range for the IPO. Whether it can maintain its higher pricing level will be a test for the stock.

IPO Debut: The IPO was priced at $120 a share on Sept. 15. It started trading Sept. 16, opening at $245 and gaining 112% over its IPO price on its first day.

Type: IPO

S-1: Found here.

Articles

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

Markets Enterprise

Why Snowflake Stock Needs to Come Down to Earth

By Ross Matican · Jan. 11, 2021 9:01 AM PST · 6 comments

Snowflake shares have floated a little closer to earth over the past month since the high-flying enterprise software stock hit a high of $390, valuing it at nearly as much as computing pioneer IBM. But even at their recent price of around $300, Snowflake shares are still trading at a valuation that can only be described as bubble-like. The stock... Snowflake shares have floated a little closer to earth over the past month since the high-flying...

Two time CEO Eric Schmidt. Photo by Bloomberg.

CEO Experience Isn’t as Valuable as Believed: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Jan. 5, 2021 5:31 PM PST

A study reported by Harvard Business Review found that people who serve as CEOs of more than one company perform worse the second time around than chief executives without prior experience in the top job. It’s one data point that should help fuel a more diverse CEO cohort, by pushing back against the idea that experience as CEO is an... A study reported by Harvard Business Review found that people who serve as CEOs of more than one...

Art by Jesse Howe

Markets

The Information’s Tech IPO Lockup Calendar

By Ross Matican · Jan. 4, 2021 6:01 AM PST · 1 comment

The past few months have seen many tech initial public offerings rocket on their opening day and in subsequent weeks. The big question over the next few months will be whether those sterling performances will be maintained after the expiration of lockup restrictions on the sale of shares held by early investors and employees. Those lockups can... The past few months have seen many tech initial public offerings rocket on their opening day and...

Photos: Bloomberg. Art illustration by Jesse Howe.

How Silicon Valley Turned a Doomsday Scenario Into the Hottest Year for Deals

By Kate Clark · Dec. 30, 2020 6:01 AM PST

Photos: Bloomberg. Art illustration by Jesse Howe.

Venture Capital Startups

How Silicon Valley Turned a Doomsday Scenario Into the Hottest Year for Deals

By Kate Clark · Dec. 30, 2020 6:01 AM PST

In June, Rahul Vohra was cooped up in his San Francisco apartment, finding it difficult to concentrate on work as he recovered from Covid-19. After U.S. infections spiked in early March, Vohra had begun preparing for a recession lasting at least two years, stopping most hiring at his email subscription startup, Superhuman, and advising other... In June, Rahul Vohra was cooped up in his San Francisco apartment, finding it difficult to...

Matt Garratt of Salesforce Ventures. Photo courtesy of Salesforce

Venture Capital Startups

Salesforce Reaps Big Gains From Investments in Tech Companies

By Ross Matican · Dec. 24, 2020 9:02 AM PST · 3 comments

Snowflake’s first few months on the stock market were a major win for the company and its investors. Among those who scored big was Salesforce, whose $400 million total investment in the business software maker is now worth four times as much. The Snowflake investment was the latest in a string of hugely profitable deals by the cloud... Snowflake’s first few months on the stock market were a major win for the company and its...

Starburst CEO Justin Borgman. Photo courtesy of Starburst.

Venture Capital Startups

Investors Pay High Price for Starburst Data at $1.6 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · Dec. 23, 2020 12:28 PM PST

Enterprise software startup Starburst Data is raising a Series C financing at a post-money valuation of up to $1.6 billion, tripling the value of its private stock from six months ago despite relatively small revenue, according to an updated company charter. Andreessen Horowitz had been in the running to lead the round, two people familiar with... Enterprise software startup Starburst Data is raising a Series C financing at a post-money...

Margrethe Vestager, competition commissioner of the European Commission with Thierry Breton, industry commissioner of the European Union, on Tuesday. Photo by Bloomberg

Europe’s Tough New Rules of Digital Road: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec. 15, 2020 5:31 PM PST

It may take a couple of years for the ramifications of Europe’s proposed new digital regulations to crystallize. But on first look, it appears the regulations could lead to far-reaching changes for U.S. tech giants. And given the U.S. antitrust actions underway, it’s quite possible the companies will make changes on a global basis,... It may take a couple of years for the ramifications of Europe’s proposed new digital...

Cisco's Chuck Robbins (left), MongoDB's Dev Ittycheria, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Oracle's Safra Catz. Photos provided by the companies; Catz photo by Bloomberg

After Slack Deal, Dropbox, Box, MongoDB Could Be Next Acquisition Targets

By Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin · Dec. 11, 2020 6:01 AM PST · 8 comments

Cisco's Chuck Robbins (left), MongoDB's Dev Ittycheria, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Oracle's Safra Catz. Photos provided by the companies; Catz photo by Bloomberg

Predictions 2021

Microsoft Markets

After Slack Deal, Dropbox, Box, MongoDB Could Be Next Acquisition Targets

By Nick Wingfield and Kevin McLaughlin · Dec. 11, 2020 6:01 AM PST · 8 comments

Blockbuster acquisitions tend to beget questions about who’s going to buy whom next. Salesforce’s nearly $28 billion deal for Slack is no exception. That acquisition could be a harbinger of a new wave of consolidation in the category of enterprise software—companies that sell software and services to other businesses. The... Blockbuster acquisitions tend to beget questions about who’s going to buy whom next....

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu

DoorDash CEO on 85% IPO Stock Pop: ‘Everyone Is Entitled to Their Opinion’

By Amir Efrati · Dec. 9, 2020 4:52 PM PST · 3 comments

Tony Xu, CEO of DoorDash, whose stock jumped 85% on its first day of trading following an initial public offering on Wednesday, said in an interview that “the market will clear what the market will clear,” referring to the share price and the hefty business expectations it implies. Xu said during a Zoom video interview from his San... Tony Xu, CEO of DoorDash, whose stock jumped 85% on its first day of trading following an initial...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg

Tesla Cashes In on Roaring Market: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Dec. 8, 2020 5:30 PM PST

For the third time this year, Elon Musk is selling new shares in Tesla to raise cash. It’s a smart move by Musk, given how much money is flowing into the stock market. And it raises the question of why other growth companies that need cash, like Netflix, haven’t taken the same approach. Tesla said today it would sell up to $5 billion... For the third time this year, Elon Musk is selling new shares in Tesla to raise cash. It’s...

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg

Markets

Airbnb’s IPO Signals That Rigid Lockup Rules Are on the Way Out

By Ross Matican · Nov. 19, 2020 6:01 AM PST · 1 comment

When Airbnb filed to go public on Monday, its IPO prospectus contained a provision that until recently wasn’t common for public offerings: Its employees will be allowed to sell up to 15% of their shares within the first week of trading in December. And they’ll be able to sell even more shares if Airbnb’s stock price trades at a... When Airbnb filed to go public on Monday, its IPO prospectus contained a provision that until...

Underperforming Tech IPOs Are On the Rise

By Ross Matican · Nov. 16, 2020 6:02 AM PST · 1 comment

Markets

Underperforming Tech IPOs Are On the Rise

By Ross Matican · Nov. 16, 2020 6:02 AM PST · 1 comment

The number of dud initial public offerings coming out of the tech industry is on the rise. Amid the flurry of tech companies making their public debut this year, a higher number than in the previous two years have quickly traded below the offering price, data from Dealogic shows. That includes companies such as cloud computing firm Rackspace... The number of dud initial public offerings coming out of the tech industry is on the rise. Amid...

Illustration by Jesus Escudero.

Venture Capital Startups

The 100X Club: Software Startup Valuations Skyrocket Despite Small Revenue

By Kate Clark and Amir Efrati · Oct. 30, 2020 6:01 AM PDT

When San Francisco–based Retool raised new funding this month, investors valued the maker of software development tools at just below $1 billion, or 100 times its annualized revenue of roughly $10 million. This price, essentially a bet that the three-year-old firm’s growth has just begun, is becoming the new standard for financing... When San Francisco–based Retool raised new funding this month, investors valued the maker...

Startups Markets

The Rise of ‘Retention Rates,’ the Software Metric Investors Are Obsessing Over

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct. 15, 2020 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

When database startup Snowflake filed for an initial public offering in late August, investors honed in on one measure of its performance: net revenue retention rate, which reflects a company’s ability to keep customers and get them to increase their spending over time. The figure may have become the most important metric no one has heard... When database startup Snowflake filed for an initial public offering in late August, investors...

President Trump at a news conference on Friday. Photo by Bloomberg

What TikTok Ban Means for Google, Facebook, Apple: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sept. 18, 2020 6:02 PM PDT

The Trump administration’s order to ban new downloads of TikTok and WeChat has raised an important question for the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix: Should they file a legal challenge to the order?Banning foreign-owned apps has near-term implications for Apple, which faces the prospect that iPhone owners who rely on... The Trump administration’s order to ban new downloads of TikTok and WeChat has raised an...

President Trump. Photo by Bloomberg.

What TikTok’s Future Might Look Like Under Oracle and Walmart: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sept. 17, 2020 6:01 PM PDT

President Trump. Photo by Bloomberg.

What TikTok’s Future Might Look Like Under Oracle and Walmart: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sept. 17, 2020 6:01 PM PDT

ByteDance’s hopes of getting President Trump’s approval for its proposed deal with Oracle appear to be dwindling by the day, judging by the blizzard of media reports about the debate going on inside the Trump administration. That raises the prospect that ByteDance will have to accept a less favorable deal by yielding control of the... ByteDance’s hopes of getting President Trump’s approval for its proposed deal with...

Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman. Photo by Snowflake

Snowflake Blitzes Wall Street: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sept. 16, 2020 5:30 PM PDT

We won’t make any more jokes about Snowflake melting under Wall Street’s spotlight. The data analytics firm had a spectacular opening day as a public company, its stock more than doubling from its $120 a share IPO price to close at $255 after trading as high as $299. It’s proof of the pent-up demand for tech IPOs, which should... We won’t make any more jokes about Snowflake melting under Wall Street’s spotlight....

From left: Snowflake's Frank Slootman, Palantir's Alexander Karp and Asana's Dustin Moskovitz. Photos by Snowflake, Bloomberg and Julie Mikos.

Startups Markets

Five New Software Stocks: Why Investors Love Some and Hate Others

By Ross Matican · Sept. 15, 2020 6:02 AM PDT · 2 comments

Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s enormous popularity with investors. But while investors love some of the companies, such as Snowflake, giving it a valuation of nearly 100 times’ last year’s revenue, they hate others. Sumo Logic, for instance, may get a valuation of just... Five enterprise software companies are going public this month, cashing in on the sector’s...

Apple CEO Tim Cook appearing by videoconference before the House Judiciary Committee in July. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple’s Epic Response: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Sept. 8, 2020 5:31 PM PDT

The legal fight between Apple and Epic Games chugged onward Tuesday, as Apple countersued the developer of “Fortnite” and asked a judge for financial damages. While Apple’s countersuit didn’t contain any big surprises, it did include what might be Apple’s clearest defense yet against anyone who argues it is behaving... The legal fight between Apple and Epic Games chugged onward Tuesday, as Apple countersued the...

Despite Flurry of Activity, Software IPOs to Fall Short of 2019 Numbers

By Ross Matican · Sept. 1, 2020 7:01 AM PDT

Despite Flurry of Activity, Software IPOs to Fall Short of 2019 Numbers

By Ross Matican · Sept. 1, 2020 7:01 AM PDT

The last week has seen a flurry of subscription software companies filing to go public in the last few months of the year, hoping to cash in on the booming stock market and rich valuations accorded the software sector. But thanks to the drought in initial public offerings, brought on by the pandemic, this year’s total of software IPOs is... The last week has seen a flurry of subscription software companies filing to go public in the...