Marqeta Inc., a California-based company that is largely known for providing payment infrastructure for Square, went public today on the NASDAQ with a $15 billion valuation, according to reporting by Reuters.
The company, using ticker symbol MQ, priced 45.5 million shares at $27, above the expected range of $20 to $24. Marqeta has quickly increased transaction volume and revenue in the past year, processing $24 billion in credit transactions in the first quarter (up 167% from last year), Reuters reported.
Marqeta, launched in 2010, provides software for companies to provide and manage their own credit cards. The company draws almost 70% of its revenue from payment processor Square, pulling that money from net interchange fees set by the card networks and paid by card holders, Reuters reported.
Although lead underwriters Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan priced the company in the $20 to $24 range per share, research and advisory firm IPO Boutique says that Marqeta’s IPO was drawing high demand. The company was valued at $4.3 billion in May last year following a $150 million private equity funding round led by Coatue.
There are currently 45 million Class A shares, capable of raising $1.2 billion at $27 a share. All underwriters currently will have the option for an additional 6.8 shares to cover over-allotments.
Other notable clients for Marqeta include Uber and DoorDash, and the company says that revenue doubled to $290.3 million in 2020 following in a pandemic-driven rise in online shopping.
Additional funding round investors in the company include Visa, Mastercard, IA Capital Group and ICONIQ Capital, Commerce Ventures, 83North and Granite Ventures. Market capitalization for Marqeta is currently set at $14.3 billion with 537 million total shares.
Other payment startups such as Flywire and Paymentus have gone public in recent weeks. The listings shows a continuing trend of demand for payment processing services and technologies. Uruguayan DLocal also recently raised $617.65 million in its US IPO, showing potential in the overseas as well.