How to buy stock in Corsair when it goes public

This gaming hardware giant is thriving and on track for record revenue.

Corsair plans to enter the market and raise $100 million to further fuel its growth. But its suggested stock price and launch date remain under wraps.

How to invest in Corsair

On September 1, Corsair filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It plans to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CRSR”.

The suggested share price is $16 to $18 and the deal is being underwritten by Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Credit Suisse, among others. There’s no word yet on its release date.

Once Corsair’s stock goes live, interested investors will need a brokerage account to invest.

What we know about Corsair’s balance sheet

According to Newzoo, the gaming industry is a sizable one, with an estimated 2.6 billion gamers worldwide spending a collective $148.8 billion on games in 2019. And Jon Peddie Research estimates that the 2020 PC gaming hardware market is set to swell by $3.6 billion – up 10.3% from last year – a figure it attributes to the global pandemic. Sounds like a good time to be a gaming hardware company.

Corsair states that as of June 2020, it commands 18.3% of the US gaming peripherals market and 41.9% of the gaming PC components market. So how do those figures translate on a balance sheet?

Well, in 2018, Corsair pulled in $937.6 million of net revenue. And in 2019, it finished the year with $1.097 billion. Exciting figures, but it’s important to note that the company also recorded losses of $13.7 million in 2018 and $8.4 million in 2019.

That said, Corsair is on track for another billion dollars of net revenue in 2020 and here’s the best part: it’s turning a profit. The company recorded a $23.8 million profit between January and June 2020.

Corsair isn’t just growing – it’s profitable. And this distinguishes it from many of its loss-making peers in the tech sector launching IPOs this season.

Corsair investment risks

On paper, Corsair looks like a solid investment. But despite its success, Corsair isn’t immune to risk.

In its S-1 filing, Corsair outlines the following major risks to its business:

  • Competition. Consistent price pressure from competitors coupled with the ongoing demand for new hardware features means Corsair must quickly adapt to the shifting demands of the market.
  • Cloud computing. Emerging cloud computing technology could render Corsair’s high-performance computer hardware obsolete.
  • Overseas manufacturing. With all of Corsair’s gear manufactured in Asia, its profitability may be impacted by shifting exchange rates and transportation costs.

Corsair compared

Corsair is a computer peripherals and hardware manufacturer. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Fremont, California. It manufactures keyboards, gaming mice, wireless headsets and the Corsair One fully-integrated gaming PC.

Corsair is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. It has a TrustScore of 2.3 out of 5 based on the feedback of 470 customers.

How are similar stocks performing?

Most of Corsair’s biggest competitors are international companies that trade on foreign exchanges. To invest, you’ll need a brokerage account that offers access to international stocks. While it’s impossible to predict how Corsair’s stock will perform once it goes live, comparing the performance of similar companies can help you gauge how the market as a whole is performing.

Select a company to learn more about what it does and how its stock performs, including market capitalisation, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio and dividend yield. While this list includes a selection of the most well-known and popular stocks, it doesn't include every stock available.

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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

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Shannon Terrell is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in personal finance. Her writing and analysis on investing and banking has been featured in Bloomberg, Global News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates and Black Enterprise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English literature from the University of Toronto Mississauga. See full bio

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