WeWork released its S-1, which is the legal document a company files prior to going public, this week.
WeWork going public is a bit of a watershed moment for the coworking industry. It's the first of the new wave of coworking spaces to do so.
It's also a highly watched and controversial company, particularly due to its high private valuation and steep losses. Because of this interest, the S-1 filing is getting a lot of attention.
Our favorite part of the S-1 is the description of WeWork's mission. Key quote:
Our mission is to elevate the world’s consciousness.
Pretty lofty ambition for a company that rents commercial office space. But we agree the world's consciousness could use some elevating.
The topline numbers show that WeWork's membership numbers and revenue have doubled every year for the last 3 years. The S-i reports that:
- Q2 2019 membership of 527,000, up from 268,000 at the end of June 2018 and 401,000 at the end of December 2018.
- Revenue has grown from $436 million in 2016 to $1.82 billion in 2018 and they look to be on track to double revenue again this year.
- WeWork operates 528 spaces in 111 cities across 29 countries (click to enlarge the WeWork S-1 chart below for more details)
Their operating losses have also increased quite impressively, from $396 million in 2016 to $1.69 billion in 2018. They too are on pace to double this year.
But hey, it's not like it's easy or cheap to raise the world's consciousness.
To help investors swallow the losses and cash burn, WeWork is planning to raise $6 billion in debt prior to going public. This, coupled with their current cash position of $2 billion, would give them a few years of cushion to get to profitability - or at least become cash flow positive.
See these articles for more details:
Axios: WeWork files for long-awaited IPO
CNBC: WeWork reveals massive $900 million loss in filing to go public
Tech Crunch: WeWork reveals IPO filing
The Axios Pro Rata podcast also has a good review of the S-1.