Alibaba’s stock is expected to open its first day of trading at 10 a.m. at around $84 to $87 a share (Update: the stock just opened at $92.60, CNBC reports), a hefty IPO pop above the $68 price set last night. As of this writing, the opening has been delayed, according to USA Today. In the meantime, let’s go through some key Alibaba IPO facts by the numbers.
You may not be familiar with Alibaba now, but it’s time to get to know the Chinese e-commerce giant. What’s the big deal? For one, it’s the biggest IPO to date in US history.
For background, Alibaba (set to start trading today on the NYSE under the stock ticker BABA) is comparable to both Amazon and eBay: You can buy just about anything on the e-commerce site, and its retail categories include Electronics, Health & Beauty and Auto & Transportation, among others. The Alibaba Group does most of its business in China, but it’s the biggest e-commerce marketplace in the world. American investors see it as an opportunity to buy into China’s economic growth, according to the New York Times.
The e-commerce behemoth is divided into additional sectors: In addition to Alibaba.com, Taobao.com is the group’s consumer-to-consumer marketplace, similar to ebay, while Tmall.com is Taobao’s complementary online retail platform.
$68. First things first, the share price. On September 18, Alibaba priced its individual shares at $68, a slight increase from the expected window of $60-66. For comparison, Twitter’s shares opened at $26. However, Alibaba’s projected opening price is between $84 and $87.
$21.8B. Alibaba’s IPO, priced at $21.8 billion, is the largest in United States history.
$168B. Alibaba holds a current market value of $168 billion. For comparison, Apple holds a current market value of $610 billion, as of September 18.
$8.5B. The Alibaba Group rakes in about $8.5 billion in annual revenue, as of March 31. That’s more than eBay and Amazon combined.
$180.5B. For comparison, the market value of the 154 companies that have gone public this year holds a combined total of $180.5 billion. That’s why this Alibaba IPO is such a big deal, if you haven’t already figured it out: It’s absolutely huge.
26,845. The number of people employed by the Alibaba Group.
8. The number eight has some significance in Chinese culture, and it’s appeared in multiple forms across the Alibaba IPO. For instance, eight Alibaba employees rang the opening bell at NYSE this morning. The Alibaba IPO roadshow, which made a stop in Boston, kicked off on September 8. The share price was set on September 18, and the company has 18 founders.
60. The Alibaba Group is responsible for more than half – 60 percent – of all packages delivered in China.
13. The number of affiliated companies and entities under the Alibaba Group. In addition to the aforementioned Taobao and Tmall, the group owns companies like AliPay, an online payment platform; eTao, an online product comparison platform; Juhuasuan, a flash-sale component; and China Yahoo!, the Chinese portal of US technology giant Yahoo!, which owns nearly 25 percent of Alibaba.
11. As in, 11 Main. This year, Alibaba launched an online boutique marketplace in the US for small-scale retailers to reside on the web in one place – an online “Main Street,” if you will. One local Boston retailer, Step. & Main, was of the first to join 11 Main’s pilot program.
27. The percent of Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba that they plan to sell. Yahoo has nearly 25 percent stake in Alibaba, and the San Francisco-based company is set to haul in $5.1 billion from the group’s IPO.
1,700. The number of investors worldwide who have put in orders for Alibaba’s shares.
320.1M. Alibaba is expected to sell 320.1 million shares to interested buyers.
Are you going to be one of the millions to buy Alibaba stock? Before you get too excited, read up on some risks here, courtesy of Forbes.
