Who Owns Sprout Social?
Sprout Social is owned by Sprout Social, Inc., a publicly traded American software company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and listed on NASDAQ under the ticker SPT. Justyn Howard, Aaron Rankin, Gilbert Lara, and Peter Soung founded the company in 2010, and the Sprout Social platform is its flagship product serving roughly 30,000 customers worldwide.
Parent Company
Founded
2010
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
Who Owns Sprout Social?
- Parent Company: Sprout Social, Inc.
- Ownership Type: Brand division
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: NASDAQ: SPT
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social | Sprout Social, Inc. | Brand division |
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History of Sprout Social
- Founded: 2010
- Founders: Justyn Howard, Aaron Rankin, Gilbert Lara, Peter Soung
The four founders, Justyn Howard, Aaron Rankin, Gilbert Lara, and Peter Soung, launched Sprout Social in Chicago on April 21, 2010. Howard came from enterprise sales at Learn.com, and the team built a unified inbox for businesses drowning in proliferating social channels.
Early backing came from Chicago's Lightbank and from New Enterprise Associates. The product differentiated on design and workflow at a time when social media tools were mostly free and ugly, positioning Sprout as the premium option for teams that treated social as customer service and marketing combined.
The company went public on NASDAQ in December 2019 under the ticker SPT, one of the few Chicago SaaS companies to reach the public markets. Revenue roughly quadrupled in the six years after listing, from $103 million in 2019 to $457.5 million in 2025, driven by a steady move upmarket into larger accounts.
Acquisitions extended the platform: Simply Measured for analytics in 2017, Bambu for employee advocacy in 2021, Repustate for AI listening in 2023, Tagger Media for influencer marketing in 2023, and NewsWhip for real-time media monitoring in 2024. Each became a module inside the core platform.
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Leadership transitioned in October 2024 when longtime CEO Justyn Howard moved to executive chairman and president Ryan Barretto became CEO. In February 2026 the company set a target of reaching a 30 percent Rule of 40 score by the fourth quarter of 2027, pairing continued growth with margin discipline.
About Sprout Social, Inc.
What does Sprout Social own?
Sprout Social owns its social media management platform and the modules built from its acquisitions: Listening, Influencer Marketing, Employee Advocacy, and NewsWhip media monitoring.
Is Sprout Social publicly traded?
Yes. Sprout Social trades on NASDAQ under the ticker SPT. It went public in December 2019.
Who founded Sprout Social?
Justyn Howard, Aaron Rankin, Gilbert Lara, and Peter Soung founded the company on April 21, 2010, in Chicago. Howard is now executive chairman and Rankin is CTO.
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Where is Sprout Social headquartered?
Sprout Social is headquartered at 131 South Dearborn Street in Chicago, Illinois, with additional offices and teams in Seattle, Dublin, and Warsaw.
How many brands does Sprout Social own?
Sprout Social operates under one master brand. Its acquired products have been folded into the platform as modules rather than maintained as separate brands.
Who owns Sprout Social?
Sprout Social is owned by its public shareholders, with institutional investors including NEA-affiliated funds among the largest holders. No single investor or founder holds voting control.
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: NASDAQ: SPT
- Revenue: $457.5 million (FY2025)
- Employees: 1,362
Where Is Sprout Social Made / Based?
- Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Sprout Social Categories & Tags
Awards & Recognition
Sprout Social was named a Fortune Best Workplace in Chicago in 2025 and a U.S. News and World Report Best Place to Work for 2025 to 2026. G2 reviewers have ranked it among the top social media management products for consecutive years, and founder Justyn Howard repeatedly appeared on Glassdoor's Highest Rated CEOs lists during his tenure.
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Sprout Social Recalls & Controversies
Sprout Social has a clean public record with no significant controversies, breaches, or regulatory actions of note. Its recurring customer complaints are ordinary for the category: price increases, feature gating between tiers, and the cost of add-on modules such as listening and influencer tools, all matters resolved through account negotiations.
Sprout Social Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Public-company transparency gives enterprise buyers confidence in vendor stability
- +Premium product reputation produces strong win rates against larger suites
- +Integrated platform architecture absorbs new capabilities without fragmentation
- +Disciplined cost management is visibly closing the path to profitability
Considerations
- -Still unprofitable on a GAAP basis, with profitability dependent on hitting 2027 targets
- -Platform API pricing by Meta, X, and TikTok can raise costs or cut features
- -Small market capitalization limits its ability to acquire versus larger rivals
- -Sprinklr and Hootsuite-Talkwalker squeeze it from above and below
Frequently Asked Questions About Sprout Social
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Sources & Further Reading
Competitors to Sprout Social
These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.
| Brand | Parent Company | Country | Founded | Market Position | Primary Market | Gender Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite | Canada | 2008 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Factset | USA | 1978 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Workday | Denmark | 2014 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Adobe | United States | 2008 | Mass market | Global | All Genders | |
| Salesforce | USA | 2003 | Market leader | Global | All Genders |
Learn More About Competitors
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Finance FintechFactSet
Owned by FactSet Research Systems Inc.
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Competitive Analysis
Market Positioning: Sprout Social competes with 5 brands in the same categories, ranging from mass market to luxury positioning.
Geographic Distribution: Competitors are headquartered across multiple regions, indicating global competition in this market segment.
Brand Heritage: Competitor brands range from established heritage brands to newer market entrants, with founding years spanning several decades.
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Independent Alternatives to Sprout Social
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Technology SoftwareUKG
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Wrike is privately owned, unlike Sprout Social which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Technology SoftwareAura
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Aura is privately owned, unlike Sprout Social which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Technology SoftwareExpressVPN
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Premium VPN service based in the British Virgin Islands, owned by Kape Technologies, the privacy software group controlled by Teddy Sagi.
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Privately Owned
ExpressVPN is privately owned, unlike Sprout Social which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Sprout Social, Inc. Stock Information
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