Noor Zainab Hussain

(Reuters] – WeWork, a SoftBank-owned company, saw a nearly 9% jump in shares as it finally traded in New York. It was the end of a lengthy journey to get the stock markets open for WeWork.

Despite WeWork’s current Chairman and SoftBank Executive Marcelo Claure claiming the worst, office-sharing company continues to lose money two years after its IPO failure.

WeWork is able to increase revenue and costs without raising them. WeWork recently had a 55-58% occupancy rate. According to Jay Ritter (an IPO expert and professor at The University of Florida), it needs to increase revenue because it currently loses close to $1 per dollar of revenue it generates.”

When WeWork began its public offering in 2019, under former chief executive Adam Neumann as founder, the share sale collapsed after investors balked at the company’s hefty losses and Neumann’s managerial style.

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, who had once valued Neumann as an investment opportunity, forced the Japanese conglomerate to save WeWork. The company was worth $47 billion at one time but was now worth $8 billion after a botched offer that put the company in danger.

Son had to admit that his gamble on WeWork was wrong.

WeWork has yet to make a profit. The company reported a loss of $888.85million in its second quarter, as compared to $863.83million a year ago.

In afternoon trade, shares of the company that has been losing money were at $11.50 after it struck a $9-billion deal to go public with BowX Acquisition Corp.

Neumann still holds a substantial stake in the company, worth nearly $1B. According to his WeWork exit package, Neumann will be eligible for board observation starting next year even though he no longer serves as a member.

Neumann’s name is visible dozens upon dozens in the business combination filing. Even though Neumann no longer serves as an executive at WeWork,

Neumann was also an indirect participant in the SPAC deal’s completion, Reuters reported. According to a Thursday report by the New York Times, Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, WeWork founders, hosted a celebration on Thursday to mark the stock exchange listing.

Experts believe that WeWork’s real test will be now. Many companies in the world are using hybrid work models, and many of them allow employees to work at home after undergoing vaccinations.

“Investors bet that the company is shifting from a focus on expanding its office space to one of cutting costs and becoming more profitable.