The SV150, our annual report about Silicon Valley s biggest companies by revenue, is here. (Check out our searchable database.) First-timers on the SV150 include some companies who had their initial public offerings in 2014, and some that have been battling to get on the list for years.
GoPro: The San Mateo action-camera maker barely avoided further IPO scrutiny that comes with $1 billion in annual revenues, scoring $987.5 million in the final year before its 2014 initial public offering. Increasing revenues to $1.4 billion last year — GoPro s fourth straight year with profits — garners the No. 51 spot overall, just behind 2013 rookie Twitter, and the No. 5 slot in the consumer tech sector.
Arista Networks: The Santa Clara company sells networking switches that found Wall Street first as a product for high-speed trading, then in 2014 as a $226 million IPO. Staffed with many former Cisco Systems execs, Arista is now facing a patent lawsuit from the networking sector s longtime top dog.
LendingClub: While ranked lower than GoPro and Arista on its debut SV150, LendingClub was the biggest blockbuster IPO of 2014: More than $1 billion raised at a valuation that has topped $9 billion. The peer-to-peer lending service tops most banks in market valuation.
ServiceNow: The cloud software firm moved up the coast from San Diego to Santa Clara too late in 2013 to make the 2014 list, so it debuts this year in the top half of the SV150. The company, which focuses on software for IT departments, pushed revenues substantially higher and added to its workforce in its first full year in Silicon Valley.
Nimble Storage: The San Jose enterprise flash-storage firm just missed the list in two ways in 2014: Late addition Fair Isaac knocked it to No. 151, and a delay in the LSI acquisition kept a spot from opening up. Nimble easily makes it at No. 128 in 2015 after 81 percent annual sales growth.
Glu Mobile: The San Francisco mobile-gaming company found a hit by basing a game on reality-TV star Kim Kardashian, and is following it with one based on her half-sisters and another featuring singer Katy Perry. The tactic doubled Glu s revenues — Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, collected $74 million on its own — and CEO de Masi said recently he wants to sign a sports celebrity to a licensing deal as well.
Coupons.com: The Mountain View discounting company gave no IPO deals, increasing its share price at the last minute, but the price looked good when shares more than doubled to as much as $33 on debut day. The high prices didn t last, though — shares traded for less than $13 in the first quarter of 2015.
A10 Networks: The San Jose network-control software company landed $188 million from Wall Street in 2014, but the stock plunged late in the year. A10 hasn t cracked $6 in 2015 after starting at $15, but $180 million in sales is good enough for an SV150 debut.
Zeltiq Aesthetics: The Pleasanton company s Coolsculpting systems promises to freeze your fat away: The medical-device manufacturer sells machines that perform the (trademarked) scientific process of Cryolipolysis. Zeltiq has more than doubled sales of its machines in the past two years and makes its debut in the health care/biotech sector in 2015.
Inphi: The analog chipmaker got a big boost in international revenues to make its first SV150 after several tries. Sales in China doubled, as did sales in a grouping of other countries dubbed Other in its annual report, which likely includes the firm s international headquarters of Singapore.
8×8: The San Jose business-communications company has been battling with ShoreTel and Polycom since long before RingCentral came along, and finally joins them in the SV150 networking/telephony sector after many years on the fringe.
Marketo: The San Mateo enterprise software company makes the list on its second try, after an $85 million IPO in 2013. Marketo offers software that helps marketers reach potential customers and gauge the effectiveness of their efforts, with its products offered through the cloud.
RETURNING TO THE LIST
Mattson Technology: The Fremont chip-fabricating equipment manufacturer fell out of the SV150 after revenues declined in 2013, but makes it back after a sales jump of almost 50 percent resulting from gains in the Korean market.
Photo: CEO Nick Woodman and employees of San Mateo sports video-camera maker GoPro celebrate Thursday, June 26, 2014, as the company begins trading on the Nasdaq. (Courtesy Christine Barna, Nasdaq)
