Wealthfront confirms intention to go public on Nasdaq, success is not guaranteed

Another US fintech is planning to follow in the footsteps of Robinhood by going public on the Nasdaq.

Wealthfront filed a Form S-1 with the SEC earlier this year and has now confirmed its intention to offer shares of its common stock through an IPO and has applied to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol WLTH.

Few details have been given about how many shares would be available, their price, or when the IPO would take place. The firm says this will depend on market conditions and that “there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or other terms of the offering.”

Although Wealthfront began its life in 2008 as a robo-advisor, it has sought to evolve into a broader offering including direct indexing, cash and high-yield cash accounts, portfolio line of credit, and an upcoming home lending solution.  

The firm was almost acquired by UBS in 2022, but the Swiss asset manager decided to back out in favor of a near $70 million convertible note with Wealthfront remaining on its independent path. The investment valued the company at $1.4 billion.

In May this year, the fintech added some heavyweight legal expertise to its board by hiring former Amazon general counsel Michelle Wilson to its board. As well as her experience with the Magnificent 7 company, Wilson has more than 25 years of experience advising dynamic startups including Okta, Pinterest, Stripe, and Zendesk.

The IPO filing reveals that Wealthfront has more than 1.3 million funded clients, platform assets of approximately $88 billion, and generated revenue of $339 million in the 12 months ended Q2 2026 with net income of $123 million ($154 million adjusted). It also puts growth at 39% year-over-year.

However, the performance of peers in this space shows that strong fundamentals is no guarantee of a smooth journey.

Robinhood famously suffered a rocky road after its 2021 IPO, with Forbes proclaiming that “the long-awaited listing was basically a bust” a week after the public launch and Bloomberg reporting that it was “the worst debut ever for an IPO of its size.” However, it has seen some periods of exceptionally strong performance in the years since and this year posted Q2 earnings far above expectations.

Josef Schuster, CEO of IPO research firm IPOX, says that Wealthfront’s filing reflects a healthy IPO landscape heading into the fourth quarter, but industry peers are not seeing stellar performance.

"Depending on final offering terms, we expect demand for the deal to be solid. However, with both Chime and eToro now trading well below offer, we don't expect investors to jump onto the deal if pricing and terms are too aggressive," Schuster told Reuters.

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