Raspberry Pi (LSE:RPI) shares have been on a tear in 2026. In fact, no other FTSE 250 stock has matched its extraordinary 175% gain. To put that return into context, a £5,000 investment made at that start of 2026 would now be worth almost £14,000.
However, Raspberry Pi’s been a public company for two years, so how much would a £5,000 investment made at the IPO be worth now?
A very juicy gain
Raspberry Pi’s bucked the trend of new tech stocks struggling after going public. Back in 2021, there was a glut of new IPOs, including Wise, Deliveroo, Oxford Nanopore, and Moonpig. All of these names were down significantly after two years (admittedly not helped by rising interest rates).
But Raspberry Pi’s up 118% since going public, according to my data provider. Therefore, the five grand would now be worth almost £11,000. The firm doesn’t pay dividends (yet), but it doesn’t need to when shareholder returns have been this juicy.
Blasting past expectations
Raspberry Pi makes tiny, low-cost computers and modules for both hobbyist and industrial customers. In June, the company said strong trading in the first half of the year meant profitability was “materially ahead” of the year before.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be at least $38m for the six months to 30 June, whereas the market was previously anticipating $42m for the whole year.
Despite DRAM related price increases, the Company has seen continued robust demand for its products from OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and other customers. The strong profitability delivered in the first half is expected to result in FY 2026 EBITDA being significantly ahead of current market expectations.
Raspberry Pi
Note that the firm is successfully scaling its own semiconductor business, with standalone volumes now exceeding sales of its traditional boards and modules.
Another thing that’s worth mentioning is that Raspberry Pi’s nicely diversified geographically. Its sales are spread across the UK, US, Europe and Asia. The US and China are the standout growth markets.
What’s the AI angle?
The rocket fuel for the share price has been artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, the real possibility is that the firm will enjoy strong edge AI-related demand for its products.
As a reminder, edge AI is processing data locally on the device where it’s gathered rather than in distant cloud data centres. CEO Eben Upton said: “We have the opportunity to become the default embedded host for agentic AI.”
Another positive is that Raspberry Pi is widening its moat with its Connect platform, which allows users secure access and control of their Raspberry Pis from anywhere. This software platform now has over 500,000 devices registered.
And the risks?
However, there are a few risks investors should be mindful of. These include:
- High memory chip prices, which could hurt product availability and/or demand.
- Raspberry Pi’s using debt facilities to secure memory chips.
- Macroeconimic uncertainty.
- A high valuation (a forward P/E ratio of 63).
Even after surging 175% year to date, I think the stock’s worth considering for long-term growth investors. But given the high valuation today, perhaps building out a position over time on dips would be the smartest strategy.
It’s one I’ve got on my watchlist, alongside a few other UK stocks.
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Ben McPoland owns shares of Wise.
