Skip to content

CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Slack is the first major IPO of 2019 to be announced

Slack has confidentially filed for an IPO.

US trader lookng at Slack IPO Source: Bloomberg

Slack is starting off a busy year for initial public offerings(IPO’s). It’s reported that the office messaging site has confidentially filed for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC),becoming the first major filing of 2019.

Why did Slack file for an IPO?

Slack is one of many tech companies expected to go public this year, like Uber and Lyft. Slack has been a successful workplace messaging system since it launched in 2013 by, Stewart Butterfield. The company has grown to have 10 million users and is valued at approximately $10 billion. The ‘unicorn’ company that’s worth over $1 billion has opted to file for a direct listing, in which the company would sell directly to shareholders. In addition to the direct listing, Slack is reported to be working with banks like Goldman Sachs on the shares sales to bidders.

Can Slack’s IPO compete with Microsoft?

Slack’s main competition would be Microsoft Teams, another workplace messaging app. Collaboration software experts like, Alan Lepofsky, knew that the company’s success would lead to similar office messaging software from big tech companies like Microsoft. Lepofsky also noted that Slack’s popularity gives companies like Microsoft a small amount of time to challenge Slack’s dominance.

‘They’ve had a meteoric rise. But any of these tools[from other companies] that fill in a gap only have a short window to do it,’ said Lepofsky.

While Slack came first and is more popular, the cost of Slack may make it less desirable to some businesses who want the free Teams app.

Brian Gillespie, a technology executive at Cerner, a healthcare information technology company, chose Teams instead of Slack because of cost.

‘We didn’t see Slack replacing anything. There was no takeaway cost, it was all additive,’ said Gillespie.

When Slack goes public, it will have to address more competition from big tech companies like Microsoft and pressure to validate its high valuation. Investors will be waiting to see how Slack launches into the public later this year.


This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
CFDs are a leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

Act on stock opportunities today

Go long or short on thousands of international stocks with CFDs.

  • Get full exposure for a comparatively small deposit
  • Trade on spreads from just 0.1%
  • Get greater order book visibility with direct market access

See opportunity on a stock?

Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re on to something.

  • Log in to your demo
  • Try a risk-free trade
  • See whether your hunch pays off

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.

  • Trade a huge range of popular stocks
  • Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
  • See and react to breaking news in-platform

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take advantage while conditions prevail.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Forex
  • Shares
  • Indices

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.

Plan your trading week

Get the week’s market-moving news sent directly to your inbox every Friday. The Week Ahead gives you a full calendar of upcoming economic events, as well as commentary from our expert analysts on the key markets to watch.

For more info on how we might use your data, see our privacy notice and access policy and privacy webpage.

You might be interested in…

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.