Revenues at Stripe Payments International rose strongly in 2021 and losses narrowed. This is the Irish-based holding company for Stripe’s numerous businesses across EMEA and APAC.
It is refreshing for a payment business to have a bold ambition that is about more than just moving money around. Stripe “aims to increase the gross domestic product of the Internet” by “building the economic infrastructure” that underpins commerce.
Turnover rose 66% to $2.22b.
Cost of sales increased 53% to $1.79bn with gross margins expanding from 14% to 20%. This is relatively low and reflects heavy investment in R&D and new market expansion.
Administrative expenses rose 50% to $475m driven by continued aggressive hiring. Staff numbers doubled in 2021. The group employed 1,048 staff at the end of the year compared with 569 a year earlier. Employees are well paid. The average cost per team member is $148K.
Total losses before tax narrowed from $136m to $22m.
Total accumulated losses stand at €294m
After year end, Stripe acquired BBPOS, a Hong Kong based manufacturer of payment terminals. This allows Stripe to take full control of its push into payments in the physical world.
In separate filings at Companies House, Stripe disclosed its UK revenues tripled in 2021, rising from £123m to £371m. Staff numbers grew from 61 to 152 at a very generous average cost of £191K.
