When Square IPO’d in late 2015 it was at half the value of its last private financing. So while private investors thought Square would be worth $6B, the public markets beat it down to $2.9B. Square is still trading at less than a $6B market cap today.
The real losers are Square employees who joined after Square’s Series E in October of 2014 because it looks like they’re never going to be in the money. And even employees who were issued shares before the Series E were out of the money for two plus years. At least founders can tap secondary capital – that is, money from investors that buys shares from existing shareholders and not the company itself, providing a liquidity event for early investors and founders.
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