How to Invest in Flexport Stock in 2024

Published Feb 7, 2024

Investor

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Flexport is making waves in global logistics.

The company provides an end-to-end platform, simplifying the entire supply chain management process. From a single hub, businesses can coordinate with suppliers, shippers, customs, ports, and more.

This makes shipping and tracking orders much more efficient, which makes it easier for businesses to sell more and scale faster.

To date, over 10,000 businesses are using Flexport, according to its website.

However, the company is unlikely to have its initial public offering until 2025 or later.

But you don't need to wait until then — there's a way to buy Flexport stock right now.

How to invest in Flexport before its IPO

Flexport is a private company. There is no Flexport stock symbol to look up and buy in your traditional brokerage account.

That said, shares of the company are trading on Hiive, a secondary marketplace.

Secondary marketplaces are platforms where accredited investors can buy shares of private companies from current shareholders.

A note on accreditation requirements

You can qualify as an accredited investor if:

You have an annual income of $200,000 individually or $300,000 jointly.

Your net worth exceeds $1,000,000, excluding your primary residence.

You are a qualifying financial professional.

If you meet one of these criteria, you can buy Flexport stock on Hiive:

As of this writing, there are 36 unique listings for Flexport stock.

This means there are 36 different shareholders — which may be employees, venture capital firms, or angel investors — with varying asking prices and volume available for purchase.

On Hiive, buyers can either accept the listing price offered or place bids and negotiate directly with sellers. Plus, there are no fees for buyers.

In addition to Flexport, some of the other most actively traded companies on Hiive are SpaceX and Databricks.

Start investing in private, VC-backed companies on Hiive:

Alternative options for non-accredited investors

If you don't qualify as an accredited investor, there's no way to invest directly in Flexport stock right now. The best way to invest in Flexport is to wait for its IPO.

Nevertheless, if you really want to invest in the company today, there are a few roundabout ways of doing so.

The vast majority of Flexport's external funding has come from private equity and VC firms, but there are several publicly traded companies that have invested.

Both SoftBank and Shopify have stakes in Flexport.

SoftBank (SFTBY), an investment holding company, has invested in three separate funding rounds:

Round	Date	Amount raised	Valuation
Series D	February 2019	$1 billion	$3.2 billion
Late VC	July 2021	$10 million	Undisclosed
Series E	February 2022	$935 million	$8 billion

Given the size and number of investors in each round, it's possible SoftBank has a $500 million stake in Flexport. If it does, that would represent 1% of SoftBank's total market capitalization.

Shopify (SHOP) participated in two of the same rounds as SoftBank, the Late VC and Series E rounds listed above.

In May 2023, Shopify sold its logistics unit to Flexport. Shopify received a roughly 13% equity interest in Flexport, which brought its total ownership to the "high-teens."

Additionally, the company also lent Flexport $260 million in the form of a convertible note earlier this year. This may give Shopify an option to buy more equity at a predetermined price, though the specifics of the deal are not publicly available.

Altogether, Shopify may have the rights to up to 20% of Flexport. Still, this stake represents a small fraction of Shopify's $106 billion market capitalization.

The Flexport IPO

Flexport began a restructuring process to regain profitability and reshape its business in October 2023.

Since founder Ryan Peterson returned as CEO in September, he has reduced the workforce by 20% and made changes to the leadership team. Peterson is aiming to get back to profitability by the end of 2024.

These plans are likely to delay the company's IPO.

Though Peterson remains committed to taking the company public, his goal for Flexport is to become a “profitable public company that throws off lots of cash that can be a darling of Wall Street."

Given these statements, it's unlikely Flexport will have its IPO in 2024. Assuming it hits Peterson's targets, its public debut will probably happen in 2025 or 2026.

When it does go public, you'll need a brokerage account to buy shares. If you're looking for a brokerage, we recommend Public, where you can open an account for free.

On the platform, you can invest in stocks, ETFs, Treasuries, corporate bonds, cryptocurrencies, and collectibles, all from the same account.

Learn more about Public

Flexport's revenue growth

Flexport was founded in 2013.

In an interview, Peterson said the company made $650 million in revenue in 2019, $1.3 billion in 2020, $3 billion in 2021, and was on track to make $5 billion in 2022.

However, that growth was stunted in 2023, when revenue fell by nearly 70% in the first half of the year (to $700 million), people familiar with the company's financials said.

The decline in revenue came from weak shipping demand.

Who owns Flexport?

Flexport was founded by Ryan Peterson, who has once again stepped in as CEO. He likely owns a sizable portion of the company.

Additionally, employees and members of the C-suite were also likely granted stock options as part of their compensation packages.

The company has also raised $2.5 billion from 94 external investors.

In addition to Shopify and SoftBank, other notable investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Winklevoss Capital, and Kevin Kwok.

Flexport valuation chart

Flexport most recently raised capital at an $8 billion valuation in February 2022.

Here's a look at the valuation history:

Source: Crunchbase

However, since capturing that valuation, revenue fell from $5 billion in 2022 to around $1.5 billion in 2023.

While the company is working to restructure and re-enter growth mode, its valuation has likely dropped by a similar multiple and was likely closer to $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion as of September 2023.

This is further supported by recent secondary transactions on Hiive. Listings of Flexport stock were as low as $5.50 per share as of November 2023.