New York (AFP)

WeWork boss's surprise start, the calamitous debut of Peloton on Wall Street: the setbacks of several unicorns, companies worth more than a billion dollars before their arrival on the financial markets, cooled the markets.

WeWork's internal crisis is the last straw for investors, who have been pouring money on technology start-ups for years.

For Garrett Black of PitchBook, the shared office specialist was "the typical example of a company with the all-powerful founder accumulating losses on the pretext of strong growth". The group has crystallized the mistrust of market players that has been rising since the beginning of the year.

WeWork has seen its value melt more than half since January, from over $ 47 billion to less than 20 billion.

His boss co-founder, the controversial Adam Neumann, had to resign on Tuesday, under the pressure of several members of its board of directors. And the group has finally decided to postpone its arrival on the New York Stock Exchange at an indefinite date.

Other unicorns having taken the plunge earlier this year have broken their horns.

Among the most publicized, the car-driver reservation platform Lyft in March and its rival Uber in May, have had a disastrous start, with shares falling by more than 40% and nearly 30% since the first trading day.

"For some big names like Uber, the period of strong growth belongs to the past, in the years preceding their flotation on the stock market", justifies Nate Thooft of Manulife Asset Management.

Uber, which faces stiffer competition and tighter regulation around the world, reported losses of more than $ 5 billion in the second quarter.

- A long wait -

Connected fitness equipment specialist Peloton, who landed on Wall Street on Thursday, saw its title plummet by more than 11% after its first session on the New York market.

As for SmileDirectClub, which offers orthodontic appliances at a reduced price, its action has been falling for two weeks.

Capable of financing their growth for years with massive contributions from private investors, several unicorns did not meet the same success once their first stock market steps.

According to Thooft, these giants have waited too long before launching themselves and are unable to reassure financial players of their ability to be profitable one day.

The disappointments of Uber and other unicorns have led to a questioning of the financial value of companies with strong growth, certainly, but not immediately able to generate profits.

However, beyond some big emblematic names, the situation of unicorns recently entered the stock market is far from uniform.

According to an index from the firm Renaissance Capital, the performance since the beginning of the year of 80% of recently listed companies (+ 25.4%) are indeed higher than those of all the values ​​of the expanded index S & P 500 (+ 20.9%).

This good performance is supported by a few successful entries, such as the video conferencing specialist Zoom, whose title has soared more than 110% in five months, or from the vegan start-up Beyond Meat, which took off more than 500% since April.

- Internet bubble -

Still, investors seem determined to be more careful about the guarantees provided by technology start-ups about to enter Wall Street.

"These companies will have to be more rigorous with their expenses, their balance sheet and growth rate will be scrutinized," warns Garrett Black of PitchBook.

"Pure growth at very high costs will no doubt be more valued," he anticipates.

The specter of the internet bubble of the early 2000s, when values ​​related to technological news had collapsed after having inflated under the effect of speculation, remains anchored in the memories of market players.

"This is not the same situation as 20 years ago, when there was no doubt that the values ​​of companies were disproportionate.With unicorns, values ​​have risen too fast, but a return to reason is in is taking place, "reassures Jay Ritter, professor of economics at the University of Florida.

© 2019 AFP