By Ateev Bhandari

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Black Rock Coffee Bar's revenue rose

over 24% in the first half of 2025, the coffee chain disclosed

on Monday in its U.S. initial public offering paperwork, aiming

to list on the Nasdaq as the IPO markets continue to show

strength.

Reuters reported last month that Black Rock Coffee had filed

confidentially for an IPO in New York that could value the cafe

chain at more than $1 billion.

Launched in 2008 by Jeff Hernandez and Daniel Brand, Black

Rock Coffee has remained founder-owned, a strategy employed by

entrepreneurs to maximize operational autonomy and minimize

dilution.

As of June 30, it operated 158 locations across seven U.S.

states including Oregon - also the founding place of Dutch Bros ( BROS )

, a drive-through coffee chain that listed on the NYSE

in 2021 at a more than $5-billion valuation.

U.S. IPOs have resumed a long-awaited recovery buoyed by

successful debuts of several high-profile companies in recent

months.

While the majority of eye-popping debuts have come from

tech-heavy companies like design firm Figma ( FIG ) and

stablecoin heavyweight Circle, Black Rock Coffee's

IPO could prove to be a litmus test for investor perception of

consumer-oriented companies.

"Underwriters have done a great job with names like Circle

and Figma ( FIG ) - setting valuations low enough to spark heavy

bidding," said Jeff Zell, senior research analyst at IPO

Boutique.

Coffee is also more sensitive to supply chain disruption

from tariffs, uncertainty around which scuttled all dealmaking

in April.

Localized experience and hospitality have enabled boutique

coffee chains such as Black Rock Coffe Bar to eat into market

share of behemoths like Starbucks ( SBUX ).

This helped Black Rock Coffee's revenue rise to $95.2

million for the six months ended June 30, compared to $76.7

million a year ago.

Net loss attributable to the company narrowed to $1.9

million from $2.3 million during the period.

J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley and Baird are the

lead underwriters for the offering. Black Rock aims to list on

the Nasdaq under the "BRCB" symbol.

Terms of the offering were not disclosed.