Xiaohongshu Prepares for Hong Kong IPO, Eyeing Listing as Early as H2 This Year with Valuation Once Reaching $50 Billion
Alina Collins
Xiaohongshu has tapped Goldman Sachs and CICC to lead a Hong Kong IPO as early as H2 2026, after hitting a $50 billion private valuation late last year — its clearest move back to capital markets since a shelved U.S. listing in 2021.
What does the deal look like?
Xiaohongshu (小红书) has hired Goldman Sachs and CICC to lead the listing, Reuters reported citing two people familiar with the matter.
The earliest target is H2 2026; Bloomberg reported the company is preparing to file confidentially with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by end of June.
This means → two top-tier banks engaged simultaneously signals the process is well past the exploratory stage.
Where does the $50 billion valuation come from?
In late-2025 private secondary-market trades, Xiaohongshu's valuation reached as high as $50 billion.
For context: its 2021 funding round valued it at $20 billion; by 2024 that had slipped to roughly $17 billion.
In plain terms = the swing from $17 billion back to $50 billion was driven largely by a surge of TikTok users flooding into Xiaohongshu in January 2025, when TikTok faced a potential U.S. ban — and investor sentiment followed.
Is the company profitable?
One person familiar with the matter said Xiaohongshu's projected 2026 profit could reach $3 billion.
Monthly active users have exceeded 400 million since 2025. The platform is often compared to Instagram and has become a go-to search engine for travel, lifestyle, and dining among young Chinese consumers.
This means → if $3 billion in profit holds, a $50 billion valuation implies a P/E under 17× — not unreasonable for a high-growth social platform.
What could derail the timeline?
The Hong Kong listing requires approval from China's securities regulator (CSRC), which people familiar with the process say could take months.
Xiaohongshu filed confidentially with the U.S. SEC in 2021, but the effort stalled after Chinese regulators raised concerns about the listing venue — at a time when Beijing was tightening control over internet companies and overseas listings.
In plain terms = two variables will determine whether this IPO lands on schedule: whether the $50 billion private valuation holds up in the public market, and how fast the CSRC clears the application.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.