Romanian-born “software robot” maker UiPath (NYSE: PATH) had an impressive debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with a gain of nearly 25% from its opening price of $56, closing at $69.
This was one of the largest tech IPOs in recent years and we should take into account that it took place in a rather difficult, less tech-friendly stock market of recent weeks.
UiPath’s story is an example that in today’s world, anything is possible. Who would have predicted a few years ago that a company that started in a small apartment in Romania would be a star on Wall Street one day?
UiPath’s success is due to the fact that it came to the market with very impressive figures. The company has expanded rapidly in the last year, with revenues growing from $336M to $607M. At the same time, it increased its gross profit from 82% to 89%, with its profitability increasing even faster than its revenues, which is remarkable for a high growth company.
The company’s licenses revenue is 98% gross margin because the product runs on customers’ computers, minimizing infrastructure costs. Support and maintenance operates at 90% gross margin.
The company and investors sold almost 24 million shares on Tuesday for $56 each.
Despite the IPO, UiPath will remain firmly under its founder’s control, with CEO and chairman Daniel Dines retaining almost 90% of voting rights.
The lack of voting power did not bother investors as Mr. Dines is seen as a visionary type of CEO. His continued control of the company is seen as a plus as there is less opportunity for distractions, pressures from activist investors who may have different visions, etc. The success of the IPO shows that investors firmly trust Mr. Dines to lead the company into the future.-
Founded in 2005 in Bucharest, UiPath uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to build software robots that let companies automate back-office, repetitive tasks. It has over 8,000 customers worldwide, including 80% of the Fortune 10 and 61% of the Fortune Global 500 companies. According to its prospectus, UiPath has 2,863 employees, including 122 in New York, 727 in Bucharest and the rest in other countries where the company operates.
