Reddit, the popular social media network used by millions across the globe, has filed paperwork to go public about 19 years after its inception.
Marking a pivotal moment in the company's history, the San Francisco social media site has shown that its vision for the future includes expanding its presence by filing to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "RDDT."
The company reported $804 million in revenue for the last year, showing a growth of more than 20 percent compared to 2022. But the company is still unprofitable with net loss of $90.8 million in 2023.
“I have never been more excited about Reddit’s future than I am right now,” CEO Steve Huffman said in a letter announcing the news.
Reddit is going public 19 years after its founding
Image credits: Brett Jordan
Reddit is known for its vast array of communities, covering nearly every topic imaginable and fostering dialogue, humor, support, and debate across its countless "subreddits."
“I think of August 13, 2005 as the day Reddit really came to life. We had been online for a couple of months, but until then there had never been enough posts from users on any day to fill the front page. That morning, to my surprise, I opened Reddit to discover the home page was overflowing with posts from real users for the first time,” read Steve’s letter.
Going against the norm, Reddit is also giving its top users, including moderators and those with high karma scores, the chance to buy shares in during its initial public offering (IPO).
Shares will be allocated using a tiered system, beginning with “certain users and moderators identified by us who have meaningfully contributed to Reddit community programs,” Reddit said in the Thursday filing.
Reddit is reserving some shares for its top users
Image credits: Brett Jordan
The next tier will include people with a karma score of at least 2,000 and those “who have performed at least 5,000 moderator actions.”
Reddit did not specify how many shares would be set aside for its top users.
Steve spoke about the platform’s future and said it’s time Reddit behaves like an adult company.
"We're 18 years old," he told NPR in 2023. "I think it's time we grow up and behave like an adult company."
He also made it clear that Reddit has no intention of giving away their treasure trove of data for free.
"Reddit represents one of the largest data sets of just human beings talking about interesting things," he told the outlet in June last year. "We are not in the business of giving that away for free."