Wolfspeed’s IPO Adventure: A Tale of Shares, Shenanigans, and Survival

There once was a company named Wolfspeed-or, as it was known in its salad days, Cree-a firm that began life with the noble ambition of illuminating the world via light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Ah, what a jolly little enterprise it seemed to be back in February 1993, when it toddled onto the public markets with all the innocence of a debutante at her first ball. But like many a protagonist in a P.G. Wodehouse tale, this cheerful fellow found himself embroiled in complications that could confound even the sharpest of financial minds.

For decades, Wolfspeed merrily peddled its LEDs, until one fine day in 2021, when it decided to sell off that division and reinvent itself as a purveyor of silicon-carbide (SiC) semiconductors-devices destined, so they claimed, to revolutionize power modules and electrify vehicles across the globe. Alas, fate had other plans. The electric vehicle market proved less enthusiastic than anticipated, and disruptions to the company’s grand scaling ambitions left margins languishing like forgotten cucumber sandwiches on a summer tea tray. By June of this year, poor old Wolfspeed had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, leaving shareholders to wonder whether their investments might follow suit into oblivion.

What of Those Brave Souls Who Bought 1,000 Shares at the IPO?

Let us now turn our attention to those intrepid souls who purchased 1,000 shares of Wolfspeed stock on the day of its initial public offering. Picture them, if you will: young bucks full of vim and vigor, eager to stake their claim in the burgeoning tech landscape of the early ’90s. On that fateful day, the share price closed at a tidy $1.22 per share after adjusting for splits-an investment totaling $1,220. Fast forward three decades, and the stock is currently trading at $1.37 per share. Thus, these stalwart investors would find themselves sitting on a modest gain of approximately $150-a return of just 12%. Not exactly the stuff of legend, is it?

To put this in perspective, one must consider the ravages of inflation, which have nibbled away at purchasing power like a determined mouse at a block of Stilton. For further comparison, the S&P 500 index has delivered a total return of roughly 2,570% since Wolfspeed’s debut-a performance that makes our protagonist’s efforts look rather like trying to win a marathon while wearing lead boots. And let us not forget that over the past five years, Wolfspeed’s stock has plummeted by approximately 98%. One might say the poor thing has been thoroughly potted, dashedly so, what!

As part of its ongoing restructuring under Chapter 11, Wolfspeed intends to shed significant portions of its debt burden, transferring ownership of its assets to a shiny new corporate entity. Shareholders of the existing common stock are expected to receive between 3% and 5% of the value of this phoenix-like successor. However, given the circumstances, it seems unlikely that such remnants will prove particularly valuable. Indeed, one suspects that the current share price may yet take another tumble before all is said and done.

In the end, dear reader, we are left with a tale both cautionary and faintly amusing-a reminder that even the best-laid plans can go awry when the winds of fortune shift. Yet there remains something oddly endearing about Wolfspeed’s plucky persistence, does there not? Perhaps someday, with the aid of a Jeeves-like breakthrough in technology or strategy, it shall rise again from the ashes. Until then, let us toast its resilience with a raised glass-and perhaps a wistful sigh. 🍷

2025-08-25 12:48

What of Those Brave Souls Who Bought 1,000 Shares at the IPO?

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