Lime Begins New Chapter as Public Company

Lime, the micromobility company backed by Uber, has successfully raised $167 million in its initial public offering, marking the end of its nearly decade-long run as a private company. The company sold 6.68 million shares at $25 each, with shares starting to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker "LIME" on Wednesday afternoon.

The IPO pegs Lime's valuation at around $1.66 billion, just shy of the price fellow micromobility company Bird got when it merged with a special purpose acquisition company in 2021. According to CEO Wayne Ting, the company's ability to demonstrate self-sustaining, profitable, and free cash flow positive results over the last three years was crucial in deciding the right time to go public.

A Long-Awaited IPO

Lime has been considering an IPO for years, with CEO Wayne Ting first eyeing a public offering in 2022. However, the company waited for the right market conditions, and Ting only wanted to go public when he could prove to the market that Lime was a far more durable company than its competitors.

"Having that resilience and patience and belief and optimism that we will get through the toughest moments [has] really paid dividends over the long run, because there were many days, weeks, months, where I wasn't sure if Lime was going to make it past the next three months, four months," Ting said in an interview.

Financial Performance and Growth

Lime has managed to improve its revenue over the last few years, generating $521 million in 2023, $686.6 million in 2024, and $886.7 million last year. The company also trimmed its losses from $122.3 million in 2023 to just $33.9 million in 2024, though that figure edged back up in 2025 to $59.3 million.

• The company's growth has come largely from its ability to scale globally, operating in 230 cities across 29 countries.
• Lime is somewhat dependent on Uber, which owns 24% of the company and accounted for more than 14% of its revenue last year.
• The company's focus on driving down unit costs and using software and machine learning to manage city-by-city operations have helped create a more financially sustainable business.

Future Prospects and Challenges

As a public company, Lime will have access to more capital to invest in growth and expanding its technology. CEO Wayne Ting believes that being a public company will also encourage more cities to partner with Lime, as they will have more confidence in the company's long-term sustainability.

"I know a lot of cities don't like the fact that they sometimes would bring an operator into the market and that operator will go out of business in six to 12 months. They want a long-term sustainable partnership, and now that we're public, our financials are available to any city regulator looking to decide who's going to be a good long-term partner," Ting said.