Stripe Valued at $65 Billion After Share Sale Deal

Payment processor Stripe’s value has reached $65 billion following a share sale deal with employees.

The deal will see Stripe and some of its investors purchase more than $1 billion in stock from current and former employees, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday (Feb. 27), citing sources familiar with the matter.

The report notes that the $65 billion valuation — up from the $50 billion figure it reached last March — is still lower than the $95 billion valuation it attained in 2021 after bringing in $600 million in funding.

And as reported here last year, the company has slashed its internal valuation three times since 2022. This lower price is different from the valuation determined by investors.

Last January also saw reports that Stripe was considering going public within the next 12 months, though the company declined to comment on those rumors.

Stripe, which processes eCommerce payments, saw its fortunes rise during the COVID pandemic, which triggered a boom in an online shopping. But as PYMNTS has noted, some investors have questioned the sustainability of high valuations for tech firms due to rising inflation rattling the American bond market.

The Bloomberg report points out that Stripe — like many tech firms — invested heavily in hiring new talent and entering new markets during the pandemic boom. However, those decisions ended up hurting the company when growth slowed as the pandemic waned.

Stripe said in a statement announcing the deal that using its own capital to purchase the shares will offset dilution from the company’s employee equity compensation programs.

“We’re pleased to once again offer employees an opportunity for liquidity,” Chief Financial Officer Steffan Tomlinson said. “Our business continues to see strong momentum with the most advanced companies in the world.”

Stripe recently took part in a $30 million Series B funding round for developer tools company Clerk, while also launching a partnership with that firm.

“By integrating with Stripe Billing, Clerk will be able to create and manage user subscriptions, which is crucial since user permissions often depend on their subscription plan,” PYMNTS wrote. “This collaboration will enable Clerk to provide a robust authorization solution.”

Colin Sidoti, CEO of Clerk, said in a news release that there has been demand among customers to integrate with Stripe since Clerk’s launch.