/Tech9h ago

Matt Turck says Lime restructured debt to go public despite $1 billion in liabilities and going-concern doubts

Uber's 22% stake and direct rider referrals support Lime's viability

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#988

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Matt Turck@mattturck#988inTech

Fascinated by Lime going public - in an age where AI gets all the attention, how does a scooter company with $1B in debt pull off a successful IPO literally after expressing "substantial doubt" that they might not even survive the year?

* Impressive financial engineering - the IPO paid off the toxic loans and converted the rest to equity, so the slate is clean

* Uber owns 22% of Lime and refers riders directly to Lime, so obviously a great backstop and partner

* They've actually been FCF positive for 3 consecutive years with revenue growing nearly 30% YoY

* Something about being the last man standing and surviging the micromobility bloodbath (RIP Bird). Never give up!

1:38 PM · Jul 1, 2026 · 8.7K Views

Sentiment

Many users saw Lime's IPO as a good result in a tough industry and praised its Uber partnership as a moat, while some suspected unusual financial practices behind the deal.

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75.0%

Neg

25.0%

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Turner Novak 🍌🧢@TurnerNovak

@mattturck Scooter bros vindicated

Matt Turck@mattturck

* Impressive financial engineering - the IPO paid off the toxic loans and converted the rest to equity, so the slate is clean

* Uber owns 22% of Lime and refers riders directly to Lime, so obviously a great backstop and partner

* They've actually been FCF positive for 3 consecutive years with revenue growing nearly 30% YoY

* Something about being the last man standing and surviging the micromobility bloodbath (RIP Bird). Never give up!

8h29230

REPLIES1

Matt Turck@mattturck

@stefihane idk but lots of demand apparently

8h251

Stefanie Hane@stefihane

@mattturck ~Who's buying? Some weird ways of money laundring out there nowadays...

9h401

Robert Ludew@rmludew

@mattturck Though not massive IPO, good result in a tough industry that’s littered with dead/zombie cos

9h271

Trace Cohen@Trace_Cohen

@mattturck I use them all over Israel but that’s it

Not growth or Ai but seems kind of solid

8h29

Mr.PE@SENTOVA

@mattturck The Uber partnership is basically a cheat code for unit economics

Also wild how being "the one that didn't die" is now a legitimate moat in 2026

8h5

Stefanie Hane@stefihane

@mattturck ~ too many Broligarchs not enough stocks to buy anymore... then again they probably could do worse than green e-bikes. Perhaps just a strange way to participate in the Uber AI ...

8h4