Shares of Navan Inc. fell sharply on Thursday after the Palo Alto-based business travel and expense management software company made its public debut during the ongoing US government shutdown.
The listing marks the largest initial public offering to proceed amid the regulatory disruption, which has slowed IPO activity across the market.
Shares drop as IPO launches during shutdown
Navan’s shares opened at $22 each, below their IPO price of $25, giving the company a market capitalization of about $5.5 billion.
The stock extended losses later in the session, falling as much as 17% in New York trading.
Including employee stock options and restricted stock units, Navan’s fully diluted valuation stood at approximately $5.9 billion.
The company and its shareholders raised about $923 million from the sale of 30 million shares, including 6.9 million shares sold by existing investors.
The IPO was priced within a marketed range of $24 to $26 per share, valuing Navan below its $9.2 billion private market valuation from a 2022 funding round, according to data from PitchBook.
Despite the weak debut, demand for the IPO was strong.
Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the deal, that the offering was 10 times oversubscribed, reflecting investor appetite for AI-driven software firms even in a volatile market environment.
Navan’s listing comes at a challenging moment, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) operating at limited capacity due to the government shutdown that began on October 1.
To accommodate IPOs, the SEC has allowed filings to become automatically effective 20 days after companies disclose their price range, a process that carries valuation risks due to market fluctuations during the waiting period.
AI-driven platform and financial performance
Founded in 2015 by Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig, Navan provides travel booking and expense management software that integrates artificial intelligence to automate processes such as approvals, reimbursements, and travel support.
The company’s AI assistant, Ava, plays a major role in customer service, which Navan says has helped improve efficiency and profitability.
“Our margin expansion, which you see in the S-1, is the direct result of leveraging our AI bot Ava in customer support,” said Chief Financial Officer Amy Butte, noting that the company’s gross margin improved from 60% in fiscal 2024 to 68% in fiscal 2025.
However, the firm remains unprofitable. Navan reported a net loss of $99.9 million on $329.4 million in revenue for the six months ended July 31, compared with a $92.5 million loss on $253.7 million in revenue a year earlier.
The company counts major corporations such as Zoom Communications, Canva, Paysafe, OpenAI, and Anthropic among its 10,000 active customers. Navan employs roughly 3,400 people worldwide.
Governance and market outlook
After the IPO, Cohen and Twig retain significant control through Class B shares, holding 34.5% and 49% of the voting power, respectively.
Institutional investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners with 21% of Class A shares, Zeev Ventures with 16%, Andreessen Horowitz with 11%, and Greenoaks with 6.1%.
The IPO was led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc., with shares trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker NAVN.
Navan’s debut follows a modest rebound in the software IPO market, which had been largely dormant since the pandemic.
Recent offerings from Figma Inc. and SailPoint Inc. have revived optimism, though volatility remains.
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