Reddit CEO Steve Huffman will be among the Bay Area's highest paid chief executives when the social media giant debuts in its upcoming, highly anticipated IPO.
The social media giant will finally go public as early as March after delaying its initial plans by two years — and the company turbocharged Huffman's total compensation over that time span.
Huffman received just over $332,000 in total compensation in 2022 which included a $200,000 base salary, a bonus worth $125,000 and around $7,000 in retirement-related contributions, according to a securities filing related to the IPO. He received no stock-based compensation that year.
In 2023, by contrast, Huffman' total take topped $193 million, almost all of it courtesy of stock and option awards, It's a more than 500-fold increase over 2022.
That makes him the second-highest paid executive in the Bay Area after Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai whose total compensation in 2022 exceed $225 million, according to a San Francisco Business Times analysis.
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready was awarded $122 million in total compensation in 2022, according to its most recent annual report.
Similarly, Apple CEO Tim Cook was awarded just shy of $100 million in 2022.
Reddit is reportedly seeking a minimum $5 billion valuation from its IPO, according to a recent report from Bloomberg News.
That would be a 50% haircut from when it was last valued at $10 billion in 2021.
If and when Reddit reaches a $5 billion public market capitalization, Huffman will be allowed to vest 662,447 shares.
Reddit officially submitted a filing on Thursday for its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange, a little over two years since it filed confidentially.
At that time, Reddit was at the center of a so-called meme stock frenzy fueled by a community, or subreddit, called "Wall Street Bets" whose members are known for bragging about their stock market losses.
By the end of 2023, Reddit had around 73 million daily active users and 267 million monthly active users, or what it calls "active uniques," in addition to more than 100,000 active subreddits.
Bay Area IPO Watch 2023/2024
Founded by CEO Ali Ghodsi, San Francisco-based data management and analytics company Databricks has raised $3.5 billion and was valued at $38 billion in 2021.
Todd Johnson | San Francisco Business Times
Former Amazon executive Dave Clark joined San Francisco-based logistics company Flexport in 2022. The company has raised $2.5 billion and was valued at $8 billion in 2022.
Dan DeLong | for the Nashville Business Journal
South San Francisco-based Stripe has seemingly shelved its IPO plans, for now, and raised $6.5 billion in a Series I round in 2023.
Stripe
Long tipped as an IPO candidate, San Francisco-based Instacart confidentially filed for an IPO in early 2022 but never moved forward before slashing its internal valuation several times that year. As of April 2023, the company reportedly valued itself at $12 billion, down from $40 billion at the beginning of 2022.
Instacart
San Francisco-based wholesale marketplace Faire has raised $1.26 billion and was valued at more than $12 billion in 2022.
Faire
Burlingame-based mental health services provider Lyra Health has raised more than $900 million and was valued at $5.85 billion in 2022.
Lyra Health
South San Francisco-based Plenty Unlimited has raised $941 million and was valued at more than $1.4 billion in 2022.
Jim Vetter Photography
In April 2023, San Francisco-based blockchain developer Chia Network confidentially filed to go public. It has raised $112 million and was valued at $455 million in 2022.
Chia Networks
San Francisco-based car sharing company Turo filed for an IPO at the beginning of 2022 and disclosed heavy net losses. As of June 2023, it hasn't debuted yet.
Todd Johnson | San Francisco Business Times
San Francisco-based social media site Reddit confidentially filed for a public debut in 2021 but subsequently delayed. The company has raised $1.3 billion and was valued at $10 billion in 2021.
Jason Henry/The New York Times
San Francisco-based health tech developer Komodo Health has raised around $527 million and was valued at $3.3 billion in 2021.
Komodo Health f
San Francisco-based Plaid has raised more than $730 million and was valued at more than $13 billion in 2021.
Plaid
Formerly known as TripActions, Palo Alto-based Navan, which provides corporate travel management services, has raised a little over $2 billion, including a $100 million debt round. It was valued at more than $9 billion in 2022.
Job Portraits | Courtesy of TripActions
