Anatomy of a collapse // SDC
How SmileDirectClub Lost $9 Billion in 4 Years
An $8.9 billion teeth-aligner IPO the market rejected on day one, that stranded two million customers when it died.
$8.9B
peak valuation, gone in four years
The signal
What called it first
The market marked it down on day one: the stock closed below its IPO price on its first day of trading, and never recovered it.
The record
$8.9B
IPO valuation, September 2019
Day 1
closed below IPO price and never recovered
2M
customers stranded at shutdown
~7 mo
from a clean 10-K to Chapter 11
Watch
The full documentary is coming to YouTube.
Subscribe on YouTubeThe lesson
The warning came at minute one. Nobody listened for four years.
The warning came last, not first. The signal was there the whole time.
Sources
- SEC EDGAR: SmileDirectClub 10-K, filed 2023-02-28 (CIK 0001775625)
- SmileDirectClub Chapter 11 petition, September 2023
Not financial advice. Every figure traced to primary sources (SEC filings, court records).
Next collapse
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Read the collapse →The Pre-Filing