Lime, invested by Uber, sees stock price surge on first day of listing, raising $167 million in IPO

Source: Global Market Report

Lime, the electric bike and scooter rental company invested in by Uber, raised $167 million in its initial public offering, with its share price climbing after listing. The stock closed up 4%, but surged as much as 15.8% shortly after its first trade. This IPO continues the hot streak in the US equity capital markets since SpaceX’s high-profile debut last month.

Lime CEO Wayne Ting said, “I understand why people are excited about solving the problems on Mars... but we are here and now solving real transportation problems on Earth.”

Lime’s parent company, Neutron Holdings, sold 6.7 million shares at $25 per share. The deal, underwritten by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Jefferies, values the San Francisco-based company at approximately $1.6 billion.

If existing investor stock sales and the so-called “greenshoe” option exercised by underwriters are included, total fundraising could rise to about $200 million.

Lime has become synonymous with so-called dockless electric bikes and scooters, which have become popular alternatives to public transportation in cities like London and Paris, despite generating some controversy.

The nine-year-old Lime is one of the few survivors in this capital-intensive race, competing with companies like Bird, Voi, and Bolt. According to McKinsey, since 2015, startups in the so-called micromobility sector have burned through about $1 billion in investment, with many going bankrupt in the process.

Lime’s total revenue grew 29% last year to $886.7 million, with monthly active users up 21% from 2024. Over the same period, net loss jumped 75% to $59.3 million. The US and UK are its top two markets, contributing 32% and 22% of revenue respectively.

“This industry has always been tough,” said Ting, who became CEO in 2020. “But Lime is the last operator standing… and we’re still growing rapidly.”

Lime went public amid sharp market volatility, with Wall Street trying to sort out potential winners and losers from the artificial intelligence boom. Many investors have sold off software stocks in favor of companies with physical assets—a trend that has mainly benefited semiconductor manufacturers like Micron and Sandisk, but may also boost interest in Lime, whose business appears relatively resilient in the face of AI disruption.

Last year, Lime spent $111 million on vehicles and other capital expenditures, yet still generated $103.7 million in free cash flow. The average cost per electric bike or scooter is $1,300, including battery, shipping, and other fees, which typically takes around a year to recoup.

Lime estimates that each vehicle has a five-year lifespan—whereas eight years ago, when the micromobility model first emerged, the industry average lifespan was as short as just one month.

Prior to Lime’s IPO, SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO saw its stock price soar immediately, only to fall back almost as quickly, sparking a trading frenzy among retail investors.

Both Anthropic and OpenAI have secretly filed paperwork, planning to go public later this year. Supporters hope these IPOs will drive the valuations of these two artificial intelligence companies above $1 trillion.