Shake Shack Files For IPO, Set To Go Public In 2015

On Monday, Shake Shack filed for an IPO, and they’re set to go public in 2015. The symbol, ‘SHAK,’ will be listed under the New York Stock Exchange.

In 2001, the burger joint was started by Danny Meyer in New York City. Its beginning days started out as a simple hotdog cart. Today, there are 63 locations around the world, including London and Dubai.

The restaurant is definitely one of the hottest places to get a burger right now. Their gourmet burgers, special Shack Sauce, milkshakes, and even a beer and wine menu have people obsessed. And the fact that the restaurant has been called an “anti-chain chain,” focusing their time and money on quality rather than marketing, reels people in even more.

The company’s revenue reflects their success, and when you see their latest numbers, you’ll understand why they chose to go public.

Its 2013 fiscal year brought in $140 million in revenue compared to 2012’s $81 million. Net income, however, did decline to $3.5 million from $4.4 million, but that was a result from increased food costs. This has not stopped sales.

With Shake Shack filing for an IPO and their popularity growing, it’s likely a lot more locations will open up in the United States and abroad. Currently, there isn’t a single state that has more than four Shake Shacks. That means there’s plenty of room for more locations to pop up.

According to Fortune, in 2013 alone, 8 new domestic company-operated Shake Shacks were opened. In 2014, 12 international licensed locations were opened. Around half of the 63 locations are owned by the company while the others are operated by licensees. For next year, numbers are expected to rise even more. Their decision to go public could help get numbers rising a bit quicker too.

Shake Shack filed for an IPO, and while this means it’s important for them to maintain their reputations, they’re being transparent. The company admitted that as they expand, security breaches of guest information due to their software that processes debit and credit card transactions is a risk factor.

Hackers gaining access to customer’s information has been a problem recently – especially at Target, the Home Depot, and Staples. But because the company already has that in the back of their mind, expecting problems, they’re likely to make a few changes to prevent security breaches such as allowing Apple Pay transactions, which is having huge success. Even Samsung responded to this, wanting to create their own mobile payment program.

J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are a few of the major underwriters for the IPO.

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Shake Shack Files For IPO, Set To Go Public In 2015