Fitbit files for $100 million IPO, seeks NYSE listing

Keep your eyes peeled for FIT on the New York Stock Exchange. That’s the ticker symbol Fitbit revealed when it filed for a $100 million initial public offering on Thursday. The San Francisco-based wearable technology company plans to sell its shares through Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America.

In its prospectus, Fitbit reports $745.4 million in revenue in 2014 and $131.8 million in net income. Sales dramatically jumped from 2013, when the company reported $271 million in revenue and a $52 million net loss. Fitbit’s quick, recent growth mirrors the overall dizzying pace of the wearables market.

The company, which produces connected health and fitness devices, claims to have owned 68 percent of the activity tracker market in 2014, with nearly 21 million devices shipped since the company was founded in 2007. Fitbit products include the Fitbit Surge, FitbitCharge, FitbitCharge HR, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit Zip, Fitbit One, and the Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale. According to the prospectus, the products are carried in more than 30,000 North American Retail Stores, and in 15,000 stores in 53 other countries.

According to International Data Corporation, consumer spend on the wearable devices market is growing faster than on any segment in the global consumer electronics market. IDC also expects the market for wearable devices will reach 114.0 million units shipped in 2018.

Fitbit lists the following trends as driving the growth in the connected health and fitness market:

• Individuals and employers are increasingly focused on health and fitness
• Advances in technology have enabled the emergence of connected devices
• Mobile devices have become the preferred platform for accessing information
• More individuals are turning to technology solutions to improve health and fitness

To grow, Fitbit will “continue to introduce innovative products,” as well as “introduce new features and services,” like interactive exercise experiences. 

A Fitbit IPO would mark the first for a pure wearable technology company, and the company addresses its risks head-on in the prospectus — specifically, that it operates in a highly competitive market. It lists its chief competitors as Adidas, Garmin, Jawbone, Misfit, and Under Armour. Missing from the list is the Apple Watch, but the prospectus does at least mention, “[A]pple has recently introduced the Apple Watch smartwatch, with broad-based functionalities, including some health and fitness tracking capabilities.”

Fitbit says it will use the proceeds from the IPO for working capital and other corporate purposes.

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