The taxicab industry is partaking in some schadenfreude.
Uber is a superb service. It has disrupted the taxicab industry and gave people choice. For a few bucks you can travel from point A to point B without disgusting cabs, rude drivers, and soaked through the wallet.
Unfortunately, Uber is bleeding money and has been for years. This could explain its performance in the IPO market.
On Friday, the ride-sharing company enjoyed its first day of public trading – a day it probably wishes never happened. The stock cratered 7.6 percent to under $42.
Those who purchased 180 million shares through the initial public offering at $45 a share collectively lost $618 million. This is now the ninth worst first-day stock performer in history and the fifth-worst performer in 25 years.
More from Fortune:
That puts further pressure on investors including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, who bought in at a time when shares were higher than $45.
The sell off came as President Donald Trump escalated the trade war with China, boosting tariffs on some $200 billion worth of goods from 10% to 25% Friday. Investors have also been somewhat jittery about Uber, after its rival, Lyft, also had a lackluster IPO. Shares of the latter firm are down 35% since their debut in April.
First day trading doesn’t determine a company’s future, however. (Remember Facebook’s flop?) And while IPOs are often priced to “pop” on the first day, critics of the practice argue that it leaves cash on the table—cash that investors were willing to pay, but the company ultimately did not take to grow its business.
Regardless, this probably is not the kind of history the transformative company hoped to make on its first day as a public company.
Lyft isn’t doing any better, tumbling about 30% since its IPO of $72.
The IPO market is a frightening one, especially considering most of them have not delivered a cent of profit in years.
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