WeWork Inc. (WE)

WeWork Inc. leased office space from landlords, redesigned it and rented it out in flexible terms, from single desks to whole floors, to freelancers, startups and large companies. At its peak it operated hundreds of locations across dozens of countries and was one of the largest office tenants in major cities such as New York and London.

The company was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey and grew rapidly with heavy backing from SoftBank, which valued it at $47 billion in early 2019. A planned initial public offering collapsed in late 2019 after investors balked at its losses and governance, and Neumann was pushed out as chief executive.

WeWork eventually went public on October 21, 2021 by merging with BowX Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, and its Class A shares began trading on the NYSE under the symbol WE. The company continued to lose money as remote work reduced demand for office space while it remained locked into long, expensive leases.

In 2023 WeWork warned it might not survive, completed a 1-for-40 reverse stock split, and missed interest payments. On November 6, 2023 it filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey. The NYSE suspended trading in the shares and started delisting proceedings, and the restructuring plan gave shareholders no recovery. WeWork emerged from bankruptcy in 2024 as a private company with far fewer locations, controlled by an affiliate of real estate software firm Yardi Systems.