Report: Tech Companies Pause IPO Plans Amid Investor Uncertainty Caused by Tariffs

Several technology and FinTech companies reportedly paused their activities related to initial public offerings (IPOs) amid the stock market fall and investor uncertainty caused by the President Donald Trump administration’s announcement of tariffs.

Five companies that were in various stages of their IPO-related plans are temporarily halting or rethinking them, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday (April 4), citing unnamed sources.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Klarna and ticketing marketplace StubHub, which had both planned to start their IPO roadshows next week, have postponed those events, according to the report.

FinTech company Chime, which was set to file its financials publicly with regulators, has delayed that move and in turn its IPO, per the report.

Virtual physical therapy company Hinge Health, which has been expected to offer its IPO in late April, and crypto company Circle Internet Financial, which had been taking steps toward going public, are both “watching the market,” the report said, again citing unnamed sources.

Reached by PYMNTS, Klarna and StubHub declined to comment on the report.

Neither Chime, Circle nor Hinge Health immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

In the case of Klarna, the company had planned to launch marketing shares for the IPO on Monday (April 7), the WSJ reported in another Friday article, citing unnamed sources.

The market valuation of one of Klarna’s biggest competitors in the United States, Affirm, slid to a level lower than Klarna’s target in its IPO after Affirm’s shares dropped 15% Friday and 46% since the beginning of the year.

Klarna said March 14 that it publicly filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed IPO of its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

It was reported March 19 that the IPO from Klarna was among the upcoming tech IPOs that fostered hopes that the years-long drought in high-profile tech listings may be at an end.

The Dow Jones average was down 1,600 points for the day Thursday (April 3) in the wake of the Trump administration’s Wednesday (April 2) announcement of tariffs.