The financial infrastructure that quietly powers a huge share of the internet's payments.
Updated · Analysis by Trace Cohen · stripe.com
Feb 2026 tender offer
Feb 2026 tender offer
+34% YoY — ~1.6% of global GDP
beyond core payments (2025)
by Patrick & John Collison
Set by a February 2026 employee tender offer (funded by Thrive Capital, Coatue, and a16z) — up roughly 74% from the $91.5B tender a year earlier. Stripe is privately held and self-funded; it does periodic tender offers rather than priced rounds, and has not announced an IPO.
Stripe makes money primarily by taking a small cut of payment volume — roughly 2.9% + $0.30 on a US online card transaction, with custom pricing at scale. On $1.9 trillion of 2025 total payment volume (about 1.6% of global GDP), even thin per-transaction economics compound into an enormous, growing revenue base.
On top of payments it sells a software suite — Billing, Connect, Radar (fraud), Tax, Issuing, Terminal, and Treasury — plus newer stablecoin and agentic-commerce bets. That suite, on track for roughly a $1B run-rate, is the higher-margin layer that turns Stripe from a payments processor into financial infrastructure.
Stripe is one of the most valuable private companies in the world and is 'robustly profitable' per its 2025 annual letter. Rather than raise priced rounds, it runs tender offers that let employees and early investors sell — the latest in February 2026 set a ~$159B valuation.
The public enterprise/global processing rival.
Developer payments and consumer wallet distribution.
In-person and SMB payments.
Large global merchant processing.
Stripe is the rare megacap that has earned the right to stay private — profitable, growing 30%+ on a $1.9T base, with tender offers giving employees liquidity without the public-market microscope. The interesting tell is the software run-rate hitting ~$1B: payments is the wedge, but the suite is the margin story, and it's what would eventually justify a trillion-dollar IPO whenever they decide they want one.
Stripe was valued at approximately $159 billion in a February 2026 employee tender offer funded by Thrive Capital, Coatue, and a16z — up about 74% from its $91.5 billion mark a year earlier.
Mainly by charging a percentage fee on payment volume (around 2.9% + $0.30 per US online card transaction) and selling a software suite — Billing, Connect, Radar, Tax, Issuing, Terminal, and Treasury.
Stripe has not announced an IPO. Because it is profitable and uses tender offers to give employees and investors liquidity, it has little pressure to go public on any particular timeline.
Analysis by Trace Cohen · @Trace_Cohen · t@nyvp.com. Figures are as of the update date; verify before relying on them.