Denver-based Ping Files For IPO, Showing 25% ARR Growth In 2018

Today, Ping Identity, a cloud-based identity and management software company, filed its S-1. The company joins Cloudflare and WeWork in the effort to become public companies while the global equity markets are still highly-valued.

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According to its S-1, Ping plans to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol “PING.”

The company, which sells its products via a subscription model typically billed annually in advance, detailed its growth in the S-1 filing. In the interest of making this as easy to understand as possible, let us break it down for you.

• 2018 Revenue: $201.6 million
• 2017 Revenue: $172.5 million
• 2018 Subscription Revenue: $185 million
• 2017 Subscription Revenue: $160.2 million
• 2018 ARR: $183.6 million
• 2017 ARR: $147 million
• 2018 Net Loss: $13.4 million
• 2017 Net Income: $19 million

About 66 percent of its total revenue in 2018, or $133.7 million, was from subscription term-based licenses whereas $51.3 million, or 25 percent, of its total revenue was from subscription SaaS and support and maintenance, according to the filing.

Ping also notched considerably higher operating expenses in 2018 ($141 million) compared to 2017 ($112.4 million). In particular, it boosted its sales and marketing spend by about 20 percent to $60 million, and upped its R&D expenditure by about 38.5 percent to $36.2 million for the year

ARR growth has continued so far in 2019, with ARR up 24 percent to $198 million in the first half of 2019 compared with $159.6 million in the first half of 2018. Let’s break down H1 numbers so far:

• H1 2019 Revenue: $112.9 million
• H1 2018 Revenue: $99.5 million
• H1 Subscription Revenue, or ARR 2019: $103.9 million
• H1 Subscription Revenue, or ARR: $90.6 million
• H1 2019 ARR: $198 million
• H1 2018 ARR: $159.6 million
• 2019 H1 Net Loss: $3.1 million
• 2018 H1 Net Loss: $5.8 million

Austin-based Vista Equity Partners purchased Ping in June 2016 for $600 million. Prior to that, the Denver, Colo.-based company had raised a total of $128.3 million since it was founded in 2002. Its last raise was a 2014 $35 million Series G led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Previous backers included DFJ, Sapphire Ventures, and General Catalyst, among others.

The company plans to raise up to $100 million and is reportedly eyeing a valuation between $2 billion and $3 billion.

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias