TOKYO — PayPay, the SoftBank-backed Japanese payments app, has publicly filed for a U.S. initial public offering, moving ahead with a long-anticipated stock market debut that had been delayed by the recent U.S. government shutdown, according to reporting by Reuters.
The filing positions PayPay to become the first U.S. listing of a SoftBank-majority investment since the 2023 IPO of Arm Holdings, Reuters reported. The company had initially been expected to list in December, but the shutdown slowed regulatory review and pushed back the timeline.
Financial disclosures included in the filing show PayPay reported a profit of 103.3 billion yen ($675.5 million) on revenue of 278.5 billion yen for the nine months ended Dec. 31, up sharply from a profit of 29 billion yen on revenue of 220.4 billion yen during the same period a year earlier, Reuters reported.
“These are very impressive numbers,” Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, told Reuters. “When we talk about the strongest companies getting premium valuations, there’s no doubt PayPay qualifies.”
Kennedy added that a strong debut could provide a needed boost for the U.S. IPO market, even as PayPay represents a unique Japanese fintech story, Reuters reported.