Morgan Stanley helped Fitbit raise capital to continue its mission of helping people lead healthier, more active lives.
When it comes to fitness, every step, every lift and pull—it all counts. The millions of people1 using Fitbit’s products can appreciate this. Wearing their own fitness trackers, they can track steps taken, stairs climbed, miles traveled, hours slept and calories burned. The activity—or inactivity—that was once the backdrop of our days spent sitting in the office or on the couch at home can now be front and center, plain to see.
Fitbit grew from co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman’s aha moment: What if sensor technology could bring amazing experiences to fitness and health? Add wireless connectivity, real-time data and ever-smaller sensors, and a new class of wearable tech was born that made tracking everyday fitness convenient, sleek and seamless.
Fitbit devices have encouraged both hard-core athletes and exercise novices alike to stay motivated, by keeping track of their health and fitness activity. Since its inception, Fitbit’s active users have taken 23.2 trillion steps, enough to walk around the earth 350,000 times.2
That has also added up to big sales. By 2014, Fitbit’s revenue had increased by more than fifty-fold over a three-year period.3 That’s when it turned to Morgan Stanley (no stranger to counting) for help to secure credit facilities for $230 million.
The following year, Fitbit was ready to take its business to the next level. Once again, it tapped Morgan Stanley’s expertise in capital markets and how to take tech-driven businesses public. On June 18, 2015, Fitbit’s initial public offering raised more than $841 million4, with a follow-on offering on November 13, 2015 raising $493 million.5
Fitbit is using the primary capital from those offerings to stay on the move: expanding its business and continuing to develop innovative products. With Morgan Stanley’s help, Fitbit is making health and fitness more fun. But who’s counting? Apparently, millions1 of Fitbit users are.
