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Would you buy stock in Fitbit?

May 8, 2015

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Fitbit has become ubiquitous among people aiming to get healthy. It makes those wristband and clipon devices that monitor your fitness activity, either through calories burned or distance.

Now, Fitbit plans to go public. It filed to issue an initial public offering on Thursday, according to Reuters.

In its eight years on the market, Fitbit says it has sold 20.8 million devices through March 31. Half of them were sold in just the past year.

Here are some details about the IPO.

Fitbit expects to raise $100 million, but it isn’t saying yet when its shares will go on sale.

The company’s biggest stakeholder is Foundry Group, a venture capital firm, which has 28.9 percent.

Fitbit claims to have a 68 percent share of the U.S. tracking device market. Its competitors include the new Apple Watch, plus devices made by Garmin, Jawbone and Misfit.

Our Angel Cohn looked at Fitbit in this story about Christmas gifts for fitness fanatics.

For story ideas, check out your local park or gym. Are people wearing Fitbits? Ask them if they’d be willing to invest.

Author

  • Micheline Maynard

    Micheline is a contributing columnist at the Washington Post concentrating on business and culture. She has written about flooding in Detroit, tainted water in Benton Harbor, nationwide shortages of restaurant staff, and vaccine hesitancy.

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