Lime seeks IPO funding to tackle $1 billion debt burden

Lime is going public to raise capital for a debt load that is far larger than the cash on its balance sheet. In its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the nine-year-old scooter and bike-share company said it had about $1 billion in current liabilities, with roughly $846 million due within 12 months and about $675.8 million due by the end of 2026.

The company, legally known as Neutron Holdings Inc., said it did not have “sufficient liquidity” to meet those obligations without new capital. Lime had about $261 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2026, a cushion that looks modest against the liabilities due in the next year. The IPO is designed to address that burden rather than simply fund expansion.

Lime’s filing also showed a business that is growing but still losing money. Revenue rose to $886.7 million in 2025 from $686.6 million in 2024, yet the company posted a net loss of $59.3 million last year, wider than the $33.9 million loss it recorded a year earlier. Even so, Lime said it generated positive free cash flow for the past three years, including about $104 million in 2025, a sign that the company has been able to turn operating activity into cash even while accounting profits remain negative.

The offering is being watched closely because Lime has survived where some rivals did not. Bird Global, once one of the most visible names in the scooter boom, stumbled in public markets and later filed for bankruptcy, leaving Lime as one of the sector’s most prominent survivors. Lime filed its S-1 on May 7, 2026, and its amended S-1 was accepted by the SEC on June 22, 2026, the same day it launched its IPO roadshow. The company planned to list on Nasdaq under the ticker LIME.

Uber Technologies remains an important backer and commercial partner. Depending on the filing reference, Uber owns roughly 24% to 29% of Lime, and Uber accounted for more than 14% of Lime’s revenue last year through a partnership that lets riders book Lime vehicles inside Uber’s app in some cities. That dependency will likely draw public-market scrutiny as investors weigh whether Lime’s growth, cash generation and scale are enough to support the liabilities it is carrying into the offering.