Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: The Unicorns Are Zombies

Zombie unicorns

Somewhat surprisingly, the phrase “zombie unicorn” does not appear in the Money Stuff archive. “Blood unicorn,” sure, in Greek even. “Vampire unicorn,” once. “Ghost unicorn” too. “Decacorn,” absolutely. “Centicorn,” yes. “Double eagle unicorn,” for some reason. But here’s the first “zombie unicorn,” from Bloomberg’s Katie Roof:

A reckoning that has been looming for years is becoming painfully tangible. In 2021 more than 354 companies received billion-dollar valuations, thus achieving unicorn status. Only six of them have since held IPOs, says Ilya Strebulaev, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business. ...