PayPal may get a sympathetic bounce from the Square filing:
Square Reportedly Filing for IPO in Next 2 Weeks
The payment-processing startup is said to be filing its S-1 form with the SEC very soon.
By Tess Townsend
Staff reporter, Inc.com
Square is expected to publicly file for IPO within the next two weeks, sources tell Fortune. The reportedly imminent S-1 filing with the SEC would follow news earlier this summer that the payments startup had confidentially filed.
The news matters not just to Square and other payments industry players, but also to Twitter, where Square CEO Jack Dorsey has been moonlighting as interim chief executive. The filing could mean Dorsey will soon be be tasked with running two public companies--or it might put pressure on Twitter to replace Dorsey sooner rather than later.
While Twitter investor Chris Sacca recently tweeted his belief that Dorsey is “the leader that will take [Twitter] to the next level,” the social media company’s current head hasn’t yet been able to turn around the declines in user growth that have made investors queasy. That Dorsey is doing double duty doesn’t help allay concerns.
Going public may not be a victory lap for Square, analysts have cautioned. Rather, it will lead to the company face more direct competition with other payments processors, including large credit card companies. In addition, the payments industry itself is evolving with the rise of electronic wallets in place of plastic.
“They’re a very creative company but we have to see more when they disclose their filing,” Kathleen Smith, principal of Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused Exchange Traded Funds, told Inc. in July.
Even with plans apparently in place, Square could still put the IPO on hold if concerns about the Chinese economy or higher interest rates arise, according to Fortune. The startup reportedly put off an IPO last year in response to revenue problems.
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