Brex IPO: how to trade Brex shares
Learn about the Brex IPO, the factors that may affect its share price, and how to trade Brex stock via CFDs once it lists.
IPO stocks are often highly volatile, and early trading can involve rapid price swings and significant risk.
When is the Brex IPO date?
The Brex listing date is unconfirmed; the company has not filed with the SEC, and as of 11 September 2025 there is no timetable. Late 2025 or early 2026 could be the timeline for the initial public offering (IPO), provided internal milestones are met, but no further information is currently available.
Why hasn’t Brex listed yet?
Brex achieved unicorn status within two years of its founding in 2017 and reached a $12.3bn valuation in 2022. In earlier cycles, that might have led to an immediate IPO. But fintech IPOs that went public in 2020-21 – such as Robinhood and Affirm – traded poorly once markets turned. Rising interest rates and a slump in high-growth valuations in 2022 forced many fintechs, including Brex, Stripe, and Klarna, to pause.
Instead of pushing into a hostile market, Brex focused on fundamentals. It reduced its workforce by about 20%, cut its cash burn by 50-70%, and pivoted away from risky startup customers to focus on larger, enterprise-grade clients.
IPO readiness
Brex’s founders, Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, have said the company will not go public until it reaches $500m in annual net revenue and achieves cash-flow positivity. Both targets are expected around mid-2025. By hitting them before filing, Brex can approach markets with a stronger profitability story than many fintech peers had at IPO.
Global expansion as part of the IPO story
In 2025, Brex secured a full European Union license, allowing it to issue corporate cards and run spend-management services directly in all 30 EU countries. It also announced plans to enter the UK. These moves transform Brex from a US-centric player into a company with genuine international reach, a narrative public investors often reward.
Strategic rationale
Brex doesn’t need IPO proceeds for survival; it has raised billions privately. A listing would instead:
- Give liquidity to early investors and employees.
- Provide a public currency for acquisitions.
- Boost credibility in sales cycles against incumbents like American Express.
Base case: A filing in late 2025 with a public listing in 2026, assuming revenue and profitability gates are met and fintech sentiment remains steady.
What is Brex?
Brex is a financial technology platform providing corporate cards, spend management software, and business money movement. It was founded in 2017 by Dubugras and Franceschi, who had earlier built a payments startup in Brazil before joining Y Combinator.
Early years
The insight behind Brex was simple: startups could raise millions from investors but still struggled to obtain corporate credit cards because banks required personal guarantees. Brex reversed the model by underwriting based on company cash, revenue, and investor backing, not the founder’s FICO score. This helped it become a darling of Silicon Valley almost overnight.
Evolution
Brex quickly expanded beyond a card. It built Brex Empower, a spend management suite that automates approvals, budgets, and reimbursements. It added banking-style accounts that earn interest, global payment rails across 60 currencies, and integrations with accounting and HR systems. The aim is to give finance teams a single dashboard to manage money before it is spent, not after.
Customers
Brex now serves a mix of startups, growth-stage companies, and large enterprises. By 2025 it counted more than 150 publicly traded companies among its customers, including Robinhood, Arm, Wiz, and Anthropic. Its enterprise revenue grew by around 80-90% year-on-year in 2024, making larger companies the core growth engine.
Milestones
- 2017 – founded in San Francisco after Y Combinator.
- 2019 – unicorn valuation; launches integrations with major ERP suites.
- 2021 – $12.3bn valuation in a Tiger Global-led round.
- 2023 – restructures to cut burn; pivots to enterprise.
- 2024 – enterprise adoption accelerates.
- 2025 – EU license secured; UK launch planned; profitability goals set.
Key features
- Corporate cards with built-in policy controls.
- Spend management (Brex Empower) for budgets, approvals, receipts, reimbursements.
- Cash and treasury features.
- Global reach in 200+ countries and 60+ currencies.
- Software-led approach: stickiness comes from workflows, not just the card.
How does Brex make money?
Brex earns revenue through a combination of interchange, subscription fees, interest, and spreads.
| Revenue stream | Description |
|---|---|
| Interchange | Each transaction on a Brex card generates interchange revenue. This is stable in enterprise accounts with large spend, but cyclical in smaller startups. |
| Software subscriptions | Brex charges for Empower, its spend-management software. This SaaS-style revenue is recurring and tends to carry higher margins, which is why Brex highlights it in investor conversations. |
| Cash and interest | Brex accounts earn interest on customer deposits, boosting income when rates are high. |
| Foreign exchange | Global payments generate FX spreads, adding margin in multinational accounts. |
| Ecosystem revenues | Integrations with ERP, payroll, and HR systems can generate referral or ecosystem fees. |
Why the mix matters
Early revenue leaned heavily on interchange from startup cards. Today, Brex emphasises subscription ARR because investors reward predictable SaaS-style income with higher multiples. Its IPO pitch will focus on growing ARR, stable enterprise interchange, and gross margin expansion.
What might influence the Brex live stock price?
The Brex stock price movement will depend on both external market sentiment and its own execution.
Macroeconomic backdrop
Interest rates, inflation, and corporate software budgets will set the stage. A softening rate environment could support spend volumes and margin expansion. A tougher environment might compress fintech multiples and slow growth.
Company fundamentals
Investors will track whether Brex hits its $500m revenue and profitability goals. They will also scrutinise the revenue mix – how much comes from predictable software ARR versus cyclical interchange. Gross margins, enterprise net-retention rates, and loss ratios on card portfolios will be heavily analysed.
Competitive dynamics
Brex faces fintech rivals like Ramp (software-driven spend controls) and Mercury (startup banking), as well as incumbents like American Express. Ramp often competes on analytics and savings claims, while Amex competes on network breadth and rewards. Brex’s differentiation is combining cards, software, and payments in one platform with strong brand equity among tech-forward companies.
International execution
Its new EU license and planned UK launch expand its addressable market, but execution will be scrutinised. Investors will want evidence of meaningful customer wins in Europe, not just regulatory approvals.
Governance and disclosure
As a private company, Brex sets its own disclosure cadence. Post-IPO, it will need to publish quarterly results, set clear KPIs, and manage expectations. Markets reward predictability; any misses or unclear disclosures could hurt the stock.
Valuation scenarios
Analysts may triangulate between fintech processors (interchange economics) and SaaS peers (ARR multiples). If Brex can prove that subscription ARR is rising fast, it may be priced more like a SaaS stock than a card issuer.
Investor sentiment
Prestigious backers like Peter Thiel and Tiger Global provide credibility, but their selling or holding behaviour at IPO could influence demand. A strong anchor investor base will reduce day-one volatility; heavy insider selling could raise concerns.
You can keep your finger on the pulse of the markets with expert insight from our in-house analysts. Check out our news and analysis section for more.
How to trade Brex shares via CFDs
Once the Brex launch date arrives, CFDs will allow you to speculate on its stock without owning the shares directly.
How to get started
- Step 1Open a Capital.com account and complete verification (subject to suitability assessment).
- Step 2Deposit funds securely.
- Step 3Track IPO details: filing, price range, anchor investors.
- Step 4Trade long if you expect strong adoption and IPO momentum; short if you expect overvaluation. Use stop-loss* and take-profit tools.
Note: the Brex IPO, as well as all IPOs, may be volatile, especially in the early days of trading. CFDs let you act on price swings in either direction, but always apply risk management. CFDs are traded on margin, and leverage higher than 1:1 magnifies potential losses and gains. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Learn more about contracts for difference in our CFDs trading guide. *Standard stop-losses are not guaranteed. Guaranteed stop-losses incur a fee when activated.
Which fintech and enterprise finance stocks can I trade?
Until Brex is public, traders can look at peers for exposure to fintech trends:
- Block (SQ) – merchant acquiring, consumer payments, and a growing business finance ecosystem.
- PayPal (PYPL) – digital payments giant.
- American Express (AXP) – corporate card incumbent.
- Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) – global payment networks.
ETFs also provide exposure:
These names and funds give traders a way to track fintech sentiment until Brex itself is tradable.
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