Games platform Roblox has officially filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.

However, for the time being, the cost of stock and the number of shares available has not yet been determined.

Moreover, the offering will be subject to market conditions. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the IPO will come to pass or when it will. Should the offering be approved, Roblox will sell stock through the New York Stock Exchange.

On top of finances

In its filing, Roblox discussed its revenues from 2018, 2019 and 2020. As such, it was revealed that in the first year detailed, it experienced a net loss of $97.2 million while it lost $86 million the following year.

For the nine months ending September 30th, 2020, the company experienced a net loss of $203.2 million. As shown by these figures, Roblox has a history of net losses. Furthermore, the company cannot guarantee it will be able to achieve or maintain profitability.

"We also expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in future periods, and if our DAU growth does not increase to offset these anticipated increases in our operating expenses, our business, results of operations, and financial condition will be harmed, and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability," states the filing.

"We expect our costs and expenses to increase in future periods as we intend to continue to make significant investments to grow our business. These efforts may be more costly than we expect and may not result in increased revenue or growth of our business. In addition to the expected costs to grow our business, we also expect to incur significant additional legal, accounting, and other expenses as a newly public company.

"If we fail to increase our revenue to sufficiently offset the increases in our operating expenses, we will not be able to achieve or maintain profitability in the future."

Take a risk

The US-based company pointed out that there are risks for it to consider when it comes to an IPO.

For example, as a games firm, Roblox's business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. It tends to see its highest percentage of sales at the tail end of the year when people are able to spend more time on the platform over the holiday season.

Moreover, as detailed in the filing, Roblox relies on platforms and networks that it has no control over.

"We depend on effectively operating with mobile operating systems, hardware, and networks that we do not control; changes to any of these or our platform may significantly harm our user retention, growth, engagement, and monetisation, or require us to change our data collection and privacy practices, business models, operations, practices, advertising activities, or application content, which could restrict our ability to maintain our platform through these systems, hardware and networks and would adversely impact our business," reads the filing.

Global performance

According to data provided by Sensor Tower, Roblox has seen 447.8 million installs on mobile devices through both Google Play and the App Store. Moreover, the company has generated $2 billion in player spending on the storefronts.

Having been responsible for 114 million downloads and $1.4 billion in spending, the US has proven to be the biggest market for Roblox.

Last month, the games platform saw 13.4 million installs worldwide, an increase of 60 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, at a growth rate of 116 per cent year-on-year, revenue hit $100 million in October.

Rumours of Roblox going public began to swirl last month before the company confidentially moved forward with its plans for an IPO.