7 Key Facts About the Upcoming Warby Parker (WRBY) IPO

Warby Parker (NYSE: WRBY), the producer of affordable designer eyeglasses, is due to go public through the direct listing next week. Here are 7 things to know about the upcoming IPO that could value the New York-based company at roughly $3 billion.

1. Warby Parker IPO Timing - Shares of Warby Parker are set to be available for public trading on September 29. Warby Parker will start trading under the ticker symbol "WRBY" on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Typically, shares that make their public stock market debuts start trading between 10AM-2PM ET.

2. Warby Parker IPO Pricing - The reference price is still unknown. Warby Parker said in the S-1 filing with the SEC that it sold shares in private transactions at a price of $24.53 each. Based on the valuation being discussed, a reference price of around $27 could be expected.

3. Shares Offered - Warby Parker has filed to sell 77,741,942 shares. The number of outstanding shares at the end of August was 111,337,215.

4. Warby Parker IPO Valuation - Based on the private market price of $24.53 and the number of outstanding shares, Warby Parker is valued at just over $2.73 billion. Bloomberg reported last month that the upcoming IPO could value Warby Parker at about $3 billion (roughly $27 per share), while in August 2020, the company raised $245 million in Series F and G Funding at $2.9 billion valuation. Based on the potential pricing range of $24.53 to $27.00, existing shareholders will be seeking to raise between $190 million and $210 million.

5. Warby Parker Investors - T. Rowe Price, Durable Capital Partners, D1 Capital Partners, and Baillie Gifford participated in the Series F and G funding rounds. Bullish and Wellington Management backed the company in the past.

6. Warby Parker Financials - The company said it made sales of $270.5 million for the first six months of 2021, marking a growth of 53% compared to a year-ago period. The net loss decreased to $7.3 million from $10 million reported for the same period in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $20.1 million, much better than the $1.2 million reported for the first half of 2020. At the end of June, the company was operating 145 stores, including 27 new stores opened since June 2020. The number of active customers soared 20% to 2.1 million compared to the H1 2020.

7. Warby Parker Guidance - For Q3 2021, WRBY is calling for net revenue between $131 million and $133 million, which would imply a 27% growth rate at the midpoint of the guidance compared to the same period in 2020. For the full 2021 year, Warby Parker is seeking to record a 36% growth rate (at the midpoint) and generate between $532 million to $537 million in sales. The company is expecting to open between 30 and 35 new stores to bring the total store count to between 155 and 160 by the end of the year.

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