Uber’s hope at a $100 billion valuation on the day of its eagerly anticipated stock market float crashed as its shares fell flat.
The ride sharing firm began trading as a public company at $42 per share on Friday, nearly seven percent below its initial public offering.
On Thursday it priced its shares in the IPO at $45 each, raising $8.1 billion and giving the company a valuation of $82 billion.
Investors were jittery over an escalating trade dispute with China and a lacklustre performance of rival Lyft’s shares since its own recent float.
Uber’s shares recovered to just over $44 by midday as analysts called the offering a success despite the price drop.
Despite its underwhelming start as a public company, the $8.1 billion Uber raised means it was still one of the largest in US history and the most closely-watched in the tech world since Facebook came on the market in 2012.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi tried to manage expectations for the first day of trading, telling CNBC that Uber investors are in it for the long ride.
"Today is only one day. I want this day to go great, but it's about what we build in the next three to five years," he said. "And I feel plenty of pressure to build over that time frame."
Austin Geidt, one of Uber's first employees, rang the opening bell.
Both Uber co-founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp were present at the exchange but absent from the podium during the bell ringing.
Kalanick stepped down as CEO after he was accused of having knowledge of sexual harassment allegations at Uber and doing nothing about it.
He remained on the board and his stake in Uber will now be worth around $5 billion.
Thousands of other employees are expected to become millionaires in the IPO.
