Technology

Slack confident it can buck the market trend with listing

June 20th is date set for workplace chat app’s listing to take effect on NY Stock Exchange

Slack is following in the footsteps of Spotify last year in pursuing a direct listing rather than an initial public offering. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Mon May 13 2019 - 20:22

Collaboration app Slack has set June 20th as the date for its listing to take effect on the New York Stock Exchange, even as some other recently listed enterprise software stocks took a beating in Monday's market sell-off.

Slack is following in the footsteps of Spotify last year in pursuing a direct listing rather than an initial public offering, a low-key introduction to Wall Street that does not involve selling any new shares or trying to set a price for its stock.

News of Slack’s listing day came in its first official meeting with Wall Street analysts on Monday. Executives stuck close to the company script, laid out in the company’s official filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company, which is trying to turn its workplace chat app into a digital backbone where customers can integrate much of the software they use, also published a trading update that pointed to a slowdown in revenue growth in the latest quarter.

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It estimated revenue in three months to the end of April reached $133.8 million to $134.8 million. That was up 66 per cent, compared to growth of 78-82 per cent recorded in the previous three quarters.

Slack put its loss from operations at between $38.4 million and $39.4 million, compared to $26.3 million a year before.

– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2019

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