Startups That Were Pandemic Darlings Look Overvalued as Stocks Drop

Many of the stocks that benefited most from pandemic-driven bumps have since fallen to their pre-pandemic levels, even when their businesses remain much bigger than they were back then. Now, startups that privately raised money at sky-high valuations during the pandemic, piggybacking off the soaring valuations of public companies, could be due for a similar correction.

Take Patreon. The platform for creators was valued at $4 billion in April 2021, three times higher than its valuation in a round six months before. But the valuation of one comparable public company, Shopify, has plunged since then, suggesting private investors might value Patreon less if it were to try to seek funding now. A similar stock retreat in pandemic favorites like food-delivery platforms, videoconferencing services and cryptocurrency exchanges suggests that Instacart, Gopuff, Hopin and FTX could all have a lower value if investors were forced to put a price tag on these startups today.