Shopping app Wish falls in stock market debut
Posted December 16, 2020 11:17 am.
Last Updated December 16, 2020 11:18 am.
NEW YORK — The parent company of Wish, a shopping app that sells cheap clothing, toys and electronics, sputtered in its stock market debut.
Shares of ContextLogic Inc. fell 12% to $21.05 in afternoon trading Wednesday. The stock is trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “WISH.”
Founded a decade ago, Wish positions itself as an affordable alternative to Amazon and other online stores, targeting shoppers who make less than $75,000 a year. Most of what it sells comes directly from Chinese merchants, who list their goods on the app. Wish said it has 100 million customers around the world, mostly in North America and Europe.
ContextLogic raised $1.1 billion in its initial public offering, selling 46 million shares at $24 apiece, valuing the San Francisco-based company at more $16 billion. It plans the use the money raised to grow its business and may buy other companies or technologies.
It’s been a blockbuster year for IPOs, with a record number of companies raising more than a $1 billion, including food delivery company DoorDash and home rental business Airbnb. Unlike Wish, shares of those companies soared in their debut.
Like other e-commerce companies, Wish has benefited during the pandemic as more people stay at home and order online. Sales were up 33% to $606 million in the June-to-September quarter. But it still lost money, reporting a loss of $99 million.
Joseph Pisani, The Associated Press
