Revolut Eyes U.S. Listing Amid Ambitious Valuation Targets
In a striking departure from tradition, Revolut is seeking to bypass the preferential treatment typically afforded to British firms pursuing public offerings.
Instead, co-founder Nik Storonsky has explicitly expressed a preference for Wall Street’s capital.
In recent statements, the CEO of Revolut has validated speculations long circulating within industry circles: when the fintech giant embarks on its public journey, the United States will take precedence over the UK for its listing.
During a press conference this fall, Storonsky revealed that a dual listing on both Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange is on the horizon, emphasizing the priority given to the U.S. market.
This denotes a significant shift, as previous comments hinted that the company might entirely forgo a UK listing.
Storonsky’s rationale is straightforward and unequivocal. The U.S. market presents a substantially larger pool of potential investors, encompassing institutional funds, hedge funds, and retail investors, all vying for the same shares.
This abundance of liquidity typically correlates with elevated share prices. Additionally, he criticized the UK’s stamp duty on share transactions, which imposes a 0.5% tax on each trade, arguing that it subtly dampens demand for London-listed equities.
Although the UK government recently announced a three-year exemption from this tax for new listings commencing November 27, 2025, Storonsky had already been vocal about this concern long before this policy shift was introduced, and it appears this concession has not significantly altered his perspective.
A revealing statistic underscores the magnitude of Revolut’s intentions: the company reportedly aims for an IPO valuation in the range of $150 billion to $200 billion.
This figure was disclosed by the Financial Times following discussions with insiders, although one source cautioned that no definitive target has yet been established.
Regardless, this represents a staggering leap—up to 2.7 times the $75 billion valuation that Revolut held after its secondary share sale in November 2025.
Preempting its eventual IPO, Revolut has already gauged the market’s appetite for its equity. On July 22, 2026, the company announced a secondary share sale that enabled employees to sell their stock, with pricing set at $2,017 per share, which suggests a valuation of $115 billion.
Earlier projections indicated that Revolut was aiming to generate at least $750 million from this sale, representing a notable 53% increase from the $75 billion valuation established just eight months prior.
The projection of $115 billion is not merely a theoretical placeholder; it positions Revolut ahead of established banking institutions like Barclays, which currently commands a valuation of approximately $95 billion, as well as Société Générale.
This neobank, launched in 2015, has achieved a market capitalization that outstrips two venerable banks with a legacy of shadowing European finance since the 19th century.
The revenues underpinning this valuation are substantive, though they do not yet rival those of traditional banks.
In 2025, Revolut reported pre-tax profits of £1.7 billion (approximately $2.3 billion), marking a 57% year-over-year increase, while its revenue surged 46% to £4.5 billion.
The company’s retail customer base expanded by 30%, reaching 68.3 million users. In contrast, Barclays continues to report around £9 billion in pre-tax profit, indicating that Revolut is capitalizing on growth potential rather than simply striving to catch up with the profit margins of its older competitors.
Storonsky also has significant personal stakes in this ambitious valuation strategy. As he revealed in December 2025, should Revolut achieve its projected $200 billion valuation, his own holdings would be valued at approximately $80 billion—a figure that would undoubtedly place him among Britain’s wealthiest individuals, all while operating a company that may not utilize its own nation’s stock exchange for its IPO.
However, the timeline for this ambitious endeavor remains distant. Storonsky has consistently indicated that the IPO is likely two years away, targeting a launch around 2028.
He has dismissed any notion of pursuing a public offering before this timeframe, favoring instead these incremental secondary sales, which allow early investors and employees to realize some returns while postponing the company’s public debut until it is fully prepared.
In the interim, Revolut is solidifying its regulatory foundations: it secured approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority to establish its UK bank in March 2026 and received a conditional nod from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its U.S. national bank charter application in September.
This situation should raise alarms for UK stakeholders. Revolut, a company born in London, is indicative of a new reality where its chief executive actively prefers Wall Street’s platform for what could be a monumental IPO.
If a $200 billion fintech rooted in British soil chooses to forsake a London debut, it suggests deeper, systemic challenges within the UK’s capital markets that a mere stamp duty exemption is unlikely to resolve.
Source link: Startupfortune.com.
