Investors, I've got a bombshell for you💥
Revolut was valued today at $115 billion! That's the price tag on the company in a new secondary share sale (an explanation of how this market works can be found at the bottom of the post), making it officially the most valuable private company in Europe.
That's a 53% jump in less than a year. Shares were offered at $2,017 each. But those are just numbers that mean nothing to anyone. Let's put it into context. Barclays $BCS has a market value of around $95 billion. So a company whose main product ten years ago was just a travel card is now, on paper, worth more than one of the oldest British banks.
And that valuation really keeps soaring. In 2024 it was $45 billion, last November $75 billion, and now $115 billion. That's more than double in two years.
But I'm more excited by the 2025 numbers, because those are what's holding it all up.
- Revenues of $6 billion, up 46% year-on-year.
- Record pre-tax profit of $2.3 billion, up 57%.
- Margin climbed to 38% from 35%.
And that kind of margin growth is almost unheard of for a company growing this fast. Usually, the rule is that a company either grows or makes money. Revolut is doing both and has been profitable for five years in a row.
Customer numbers are growing at a crazy pace. By the end of the year, Revolut had 68.3 million retail clients, 30% more, with 16 million added just last year. Today the company already reports over 75 million.
Behind it all are two things from this spring. In March, Revolut finally got its full UK banking licence and at the same time applied for a US one.
So what do you think: do you believe Revolut will justify this valuation on the stock exchange, or is it an inflated fintech bubble? And do you use it yourself, or do you stick to traditional banks? I use Revolut when travelling and have never had a problem so far.
Explanation
When a company does a primary offering (typically at an IPO or a classic investment round), it issues new shares and the money from the sale goes directly to the company. It can then use that for growth, expansion, and so on.
In a secondary sale, no new shares are created. Existing ones are sold. Basically, people who already hold them just flip them between themselves. This mainly involves employees with options and investors who want to cash in some profit and finally get their hands on some actual money. They are bought by new or existing investors. The money moves between them, and the company doesn't see a single dollar from it. That's why it's also called an "employee share sale" – it's mainly a way to give insiders liquidity without having to wait for an official stock market listing.