How to Invest in Stripe Stock Before It Goes Public
You cannot buy Stripe stock on an exchange: Stripe is a private company with no ticker, and no IPO filing has been reported. Its latest price is $159 billion, set in a February 2026 tender offer in which employees sold shares to investors.
The routes that exist are an eventual IPO, a few funds that report holding it, and private secondary sales that are generally limited to accredited investors. This site cannot arrange any of them.
What is confirmed about Stripe, and what is only reported?
| Fact | Status | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Tender offer at a $159 billion valuation | Confirmed by Stripe | CNBC, February 24, 2026 |
| Buyers: Thrive Capital, Coatue and a16z, with Stripe repurchasing some shares | Confirmed by Stripe | Payments Dive, February 24, 2026 |
| Prior tender at $91.5 billion | Reported | Same article, for February 2025 |
| 2025 payment volume of $1.9 trillion, up 34% | Stated by Stripe | CNBC, February 24, 2026 |
| Revenue and profit | Not disclosed; Stripe says it is “robustly” profitable | Payments Dive, February 24, 2026 |
| IPO | No filing reported; John Collison called an IPO “a solution in search of a problem” | CNBC, February 24, 2026 |
Total payment volume is the money that flows through Stripe, not its revenue, so $1.9 trillion says nothing about how much Stripe keeps. A February 9, 2026 report of a $140 billion valuation was an early estimate that the final deal replaced.
How can Stripe employees and early investors sell?
Through tender offers: Stripe arranges for large investors and itself to buy shares from current and former employees at a set price. It lets staff cash out without a listing and lowers the pressure to go public, as analysts quoted by Payments Dive noted.
A tender is a private, negotiated price. It is a useful marker but it is not what a public market would pay on an IPO day.
How big is Stripe next to public payment stocks?
On this site's October 24, 2026 market values, PayPal, Block, Fiserv and Global Payments are worth about $143 billion together. Stripe's $159 billion tender price is above all four combined, which is a price for growth and not for a track record you can read in a 10-K.
Stripe: February 24, 2026 tender price. Others: market value in this site's data refreshed October 24, 2026. The first is a negotiated price, the rest are trading prices.
For the public companies see the stock pages for PayPal, Block, Fiserv and Global Payments.
What routes do ordinary investors have, and what are their limits?
| Route | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Wait for an IPO | Ordinary shares on an exchange | No filing reported and no date; the founders say it is not a priority. |
| Funds that report holding it | A slice of a diversified portfolio | Baillie Gifford's Schiehallion Fund, a London-listed trust, held Stripe at 3.2% of assets on September 30, 2026. It is 96.8% other holdings and may not be open to you. |
| Secondary marketplaces | Existing shares from employees or early holders | Marketplaces such as Forge Global and EquityBee have listed Stripe (Motley Fool, updated May 13, 2026), but buyers are institutional or accredited investors. |
| An SPV (pooled vehicle) | An interest in a fund that holds the shares | You own a slice of the vehicle, not the shares; fees can stack and the company may not recognize it. |
Whichever route, check three things: whether the company allows the transfer, whether the price is a real trade or an indicative estimate, and when and how you could sell.
What does a Stripe valuation not tell you?
- No audited accounts. A public company files a 10-K; Stripe publishes a letter.
- A tender is thin. Few buyers set the price, and a later round can be lower as well as higher.
- Growth is implied. A price this large needs years of growth; what growth a share price implies shows how to test it for a listed company, and what a reverse DCF is explains the method.
For comparison with other private names read how to invest in Waymo stock and when will Anthropic go public.
Stripe stock FAQ
Is Stripe stock available to buy?
Not on any exchange. Stripe is private and has no ticker, and no IPO filing has been reported. Only approved private sales to eligible investors take place, and this site cannot arrange them.
What is Stripe worth?
Its February 2026 tender offer valued it at $159 billion, up from $91.5 billion in February 2025. A tender price is set by agreement with a few large buyers, not by a public market.
Is Stripe profitable?
Stripe calls itself robustly profitable in its 2025 annual letter, but the letter reported no revenue or income figures. Total payment volume of $1.9 trillion in 2025 is not revenue.
Can I buy Stripe through a fund?
A few funds report holding Stripe, such as Baillie Gifford's Schiehallion Fund at 3.2% of assets on September 30, 2026. Such funds hold many companies, may not be open to you, and a small slice of the fund is Stripe.
What are the risks of private secondary shares or SPVs?
Companies can restrict or block transfers, prices are indicative and not executable, fees can stack, an SPV owns the shares so you own only a slice of it, and you may be unable to sell for years.
New to IPOs? See the IPO guide, how IPOs work and how to buy IPO shares.