Shein advances toward Hong Kong IPO after years of failed attempts, but the numbers tell a complicated story

Shein spent the better part of four years trying to go public. It tried New York. It tried London. Both fell apart. Now the Singapore-based fast-fashion juggernaut is making its move in Hong Kong, with a listing date targeted for around September 1 following a planned IPO launch on August 24, 2026.

The company finally secured approval from China’s securities regulator, the CSRC, on July 10. But the Shein heading to market today looks very different from the one that commanded a $100 billion valuation during a 2022 private funding round. The current target valuation sits somewhere between $26 billion and $40 billion, a decline that would make most founders lose sleep for a decade.

The financial picture has gotten messy

Shein’s draft prospectus, filed in late July, paints a portrait of a company whose explosive growth phase has given way to something far less flattering.

In 2025, the company reported revenue of $41.85 billion, an 8% year-over-year increase. That sounds fine until you look at the profit line: net income fell 38.7% to $2.06 billion.

The first quarter of 2026 made things worse. Shein posted a net loss of $99 million, compared to a profit of $395 million in Q1 2025.

US revenue came in at $2.04 billion for Q1 2026. That represents a 14.3% year-over-year drop. The US now accounts for just 22.5% of total revenue.

Those headwinds have names: tariff changes on small-package imports, heightened regulatory scrutiny over supply chain practices, and a broader consumer spending slowdown that has hit discretionary retail hard.

From unicorn darling to valuation reality check

The gap between Shein’s 2022 peak valuation and its current IPO target deserves some context. A drop from $100 billion to roughly $26-27 billion represents a decline of approximately 74%.

The failed listing attempts in New York and London also extracted a toll. Each abandoned attempt raised questions about whether Shein could satisfy the disclosure and governance requirements that major exchanges demand, particularly around its supply chain transparency and its ties to China.

The CSRC approval was a prerequisite that previous listing attempts in Western markets couldn’t easily replicate.

Shein is targeting $2 billion to $3 billion in fundraising from the IPO. UBS has signed on as a cornerstone investor, and discussions are ongoing with additional institutional backers.

A business model under pressure

Shein’s competitive advantage has always been speed. The company operates through an extensive network of contract manufacturers, primarily in China, that can turn a trending design into a finished product in days rather than weeks.

US trade policy has increasingly targeted the de minimis exemption, which allowed packages valued under $800 to enter the country duty-free. Changes to this threshold have directly contributed to the company’s declining American revenue.

Scrutiny over labor practices in Shein’s supply chain has intensified. Congressional investigations and media reports have repeatedly raised concerns about working conditions in the factories producing Shein’s goods. These issues contributed to the collapse of the company’s planned London listing.

What investors are really weighing

On one hand, a company generating $41.85 billion in annual revenue at a valuation of $26 billion would be trading at roughly 0.6x revenue.

On the other hand, a business swinging from $2 billion in annual profit to quarterly losses within a single year is not a business whose earnings trajectory inspires confidence. Market analysts express concerns regarding whether the newly adjusted valuation adequately reflects the ongoing compression of profit margins and the declining U.S. revenue figures.

Shein has been expanding in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, reducing its dependence on the US market.

UBS’s involvement as a cornerstone investor lends institutional credibility to the offering, with ongoing discussions to secure other investors.

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