What happened
On December 15, 2021, Reddit announced it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The confidential filing, a common first step that lets companies begin the SEC review process privately, did not disclose the number of shares to be sold or a target price range, and the company entered a regulatory 'quiet period' that limited further public comment.
The move came months after an August 2021 funding round that valued Reddit above $10 billion and capped a banner year in which the platform drew unprecedented mainstream attention through the GameStop trading saga. Reddit said the offering would proceed only after the SEC completed its review, subject to market conditions. Volatile markets and a broader tech slowdown ultimately delayed the listing, and Reddit did not complete its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange until March 2024, at a valuation well below its 2021 private peak.