Tom Puskarich’s Post

Databricks feels the pressure to go public to create liquidity for investors, but it is not committing to any particular timetable for its highly anticipated offering, cofounder and CEO Ali Ghodsi said. Ghodsi could not be drawn on whether Databricks would launch an IPO later this year, or in 2025, if stock market conditions are favorable. One investment banker familiar with Databricks’ strategy estimated its IPO could come in the second half of 2025 or in early 2026. A second banker though thought a listing may occur earlier: https://lnkd.in/eUzupMVp

Here’s why Databricks is putting an IPO on hold— even though they’re ready. Wall Street has been expecting a Databricks IPO for a while now. And just when the markets seem right, they’re taking a different approach. Databricks is already operating as a public company, doing its audits and financials as a public company would. So why aren’t they going public yet? They’re choosing to act as a public firm by self-reporting business performance, as it waits for the right moment to commit to an IPO. This is what IPO readiness looks like. This is what preparing for an IPO well before you plan to IPO looks like. Databricks can choose their preferred market conditions. There is no rush or panic. This is why I will continue to talk about the immense value in not simply going public- but in IPO preparedness. Doing this teaches you the value of operating as a public entity before going public. That’s exactly why CEO Ali Ghodi says, “It feels like having your cake and eating it, too.”

Is there any good reason for Databricks to IPO? Databricks has traded very actively in the secondary market for a range of reasons. It's a well known company in a hot space. Also, the CEO has shared information publicly about the company's performance. Visibility into how a private company is doing helps a lot to generate demand. Databricks is also a rare stock that does not trade directly but trades very actively on an indirect basis (ie. no actual shares change hands, but buyers and sellers use structures like SPVs in order to trade). The significant variations in transacted prices are therefore more the result the range of transaction structures that buyers and sellers employ in transfering interests, rather than a lack of available price discovery. Different structures have different prices, and so do different classes (eg. common vs. RSUs) As Rebecca Szkutak of TechCrunch recently wrote, private companies are increasingly satisfying liquidity needs in the private secondary market. What's more, as we start to get robust price discovery, I believe that the private market will act more like the public markets for companies' PRIMARY fundraising needs. Liquid pricing benchmarks will help companies source investors and set fundraising terms much more easily. All of this begs the question: is there something that Databricks can get from going public that it cannot get as a private company? #privatemarket #secondarymarket #liquidity #fundraising #unicorns #preipo

Databricks Might Delay IPO There are signs that Databricks is not planning for an IPO anytime soon. The company plans, according to The Information, a major cash raise to help employees cash out restricted stock units set to expire in 2026. Read the full story here, and subscribe (free): https://shorturl.at/7MSP4

Conventional wisdom is that Databricks missed an opportunity with the pre-pandemic IPO bubble. It could be argued either way: (1) Venture investors missed cashing out at sublime levels; or (2) Databricks maintained sustainable growth in spite of surging interest rates, and consequently, when market conditions become IPO friendlier, it should be inoculated from the threat of being too ridiculously priced. The good news is one of continued sustainable growth. Or as Thomas W. Dinsmore termed it yesterday, a common sense approach to building its platform from the bottom up rather than some grand strategery from the top down.

Databricks' Bold Play: $2 Billion for Tabular In a striking move, Databricks has reportedly shelled out $2 billion to acquire Tabular, a startup with just $1 million in annual revenue. This acquisition underscores the fierce competition between Databricks and Snowflake, two titans in the analytics and AI landscape. Tabular, backed by heavyweights like Altimeter Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, is renowned for its Apache Iceberg table format, making it a coveted asset in the data wars. This hefty price tag highlights the strategic value Databricks sees in staying ahead of Snowflake, especially as Snowflake grapples with a significant stock price drop and security challenges. Is this merely a high-stakes gamble, or a visionary move to solidify Databricks' dominance? #Databricks #Tabular #Acquisition #ApacheIceberg #Snowflake #TechMergers #Saasverse

🚫 Snowflake is facing its largest decline on record of 20.30% in stock value following a discouraging sales outlook and the announcement of CEO Frank Slootman’s departure from the role. Snowflake’s projection for product revenue in the first quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations, with forecasts ranging from $745 million to $750 million, compared to the anticipated $769.5 million. Snowflake experienced a slowdown in revenue growth in 2023, attributed to businesses reducing their software expenditures. Despite similar challenges faced by cloud providers like Amazon and Microsoft, recent signals indicate a shift away from this cost-cutting behavior among customers. Frank Slootman, who has led Snowflake since 2019, will remain chairman of the board. Under Slootman’s leadership, Snowflake went public in 2020, establishing itself as a significant player in the software industry. ➡️For traders seeking potential opportunities in the market, consider exploring the diverse range of crypto CFDs on TradeEU Global platform. ……… Your capital might be at risk FSC license: GB21026906 ……… #tradeeu #tradeeuglobal #tradeshow #traders #traderlifestyle #snowflake #snowstock #bigtech #ai #artificialintelligence #artificalintelligence #tradingstrategy #tradingplatform #tradingcommunity #tradingnews #tradingstocks #stockmarket #stocktrader #stockmarketinvesting #stockmarkettips #stockmarketnews #stocktrading #indicestrading #broker #brokerage #stockbroker #cfds #tradingonline #tradinglife #nyse

Databricks recorded $1.6B in revenue for its fiscal year ended January 31st. The data and AI company is not wasting time deploying some of that cash into acquisitions. It made its second acquisition just this year in March, acquiring Lilac — which simplifies unstructured data evaluation for genAI applications. The bottom line: Databricks is building a one-stop-shop. https://cbi.team/3PLSYyr

Snowflake’s Zero-Interest Gamble: Bonds That Don’t Pay—Until They Do So, Snowflake just pulled off a cool trick—issuing $2 billion in convertible bonds with a zero interest rate. Yeah, zero. Why would anyone buy these? Because they aren't really buying bonds; they’re buying stock options in disguise. Investors are banking on Snowflake’s stock skyrocketing, and when it does, they can convert these notes into equity. Snowflake sweetens the deal with a "capped call" to reduce dilution, and there's even an extra $150 million option in case investors can’t get enough. But let’s talk about risk. Sure, there are no interest payments to collect, but investors aren’t here for coupon clipping. They’re betting on Snowflake’s stock doing well, which has been as unpredictable as any high-flying tech name since its IPO. The capped call transaction is Snowflake’s way of saying, “We’ll cap how much your shares dilute if things take off,” meaning the upside is potentially massive, but tempered to keep the stockholder peace. It’s smart. It’s flashy. And, oh, the kicker: Snowflake will use a portion of the proceeds to buy back its own stock—up to $575 million worth. So, not only do they issue debt without paying interest, but they also help stabilize their stock price by repurchasing shares. Meanwhile, investors in these zero-interest bonds better hope the stock keeps going up, because if it doesn’t, they’re left with a no-interest bond whose only potential reward was equity conversion. Snowflake knows what it's doing. This is a high-stakes game where they hold all the cards—no interest payments, stock buybacks, and enough optimism that the stock will make everyone richer. If you’re buying this bond, you’re not buying safety—you’re buying a shot at being in on the next big tech win. Just remember: no interest, no guarantees. #snowflake #bond #finance

Pre-IPO Stock Market Update | as of Sep 27, 2024 • Page 2: AG Dillon Pre-IPO Stock Venture Capital Fund closing to new investors on Oct 1, 2024 • Page 3-5: LAST CALL for AG Dillon Top 10 Index Fund, OpenAI, xAI, Groq, Hugging Face, and Databricks Pre-IPO Stock Funds, wires due on Oct 15; Anthropic targets $30-40B; Wiz share sale at $15-20B; Revolut hits $45B; Chime preps 2025 IPO; Scale AI hits $400M H1 2024; OpenAI valued at $156.5B; Google expands Gemini; Rippling launches AI Talent Signal at $15.9B; Anduril Industries secures $17.4B defense deals; Klarna expands BNPL with Adyen • Page 6: This Week in Pre-IPO Stocks Podcast • Page 7: AG Dillon Pre-IPO Stock Vintage Index update • Page 8: Current pre-IPO stock secondary market implied valuations • Page 9-10: Pre-IPO Stock revenue multiples • Page 11: Pre-IPO stock secondary market performance