Church-focused tech company holds stock sale amid losses

Gloo, a tech company that markets itself to Christians and churches, sold 7 million shares of stock on Friday. The sale garnered $22.75 million before fees and expenses, according to a Monday news release from the company. Several members of Gloo’s board of directors bought around $6 million in stocks, according to the company. The sale comes as Gloo has reported hundreds of millions of dollars in net losses.

More than 140,000 churches and ministry leaders use Gloo’s services. The company, based in Boulder, Colo., has offered products such as a texting service to follow up with visitors, an artificial intelligence application that creates social media video clips of sermons, and access to church-focused research through a partnership with Barna Group.

Why did Gloo hold the stock sale? Gloo’s stock offering came after the company lost more than $240 million over the span of two years, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of the sale. Gloo had incurred net losses since its start in 2013, the document added. Its recurring operating losses, negative cash flows, limited liquid resources and dependence on external financing have caused the company to question its future profitability, the SEC filing said.

Friday’s stock appeared to be undervalued, according to InvestingPro. When the company went public last November, it sold stock at $8 per share. On Friday, shares were sold for less than $4.

But Gloo reported $41.5 million in revenue for the most recent quarter. That represents a 238% growth in revenue year-over-year. Additionally, the company’s leaders told The Wall Street Journal they predict the company will turn a profit by January 2027.

Dig deeper: Read my conversation with the vice president of Gloo on the concerning trend of AI-generated pastors.