IPO

Airbnb files to go public and reveals a profit in its big turnaround quarter

Wednesday, November 18, 2020 by Snacks
_Forgot the code for the Nasdaq check-in_

Forgot the code for the Nasdaq check-in

Calm down... Airbnb got some inspo from Genesis as it prepped its IPO filing, kicking off its origin story with "In the beginning..." The home-sharing giant plans to go public in December under ticker symbol ABNB (STAY and CASA were too edgy).

  • Spring quarter: Airbnb lost nearly $600M, almost double what it lost during the same time last year.
  • Summer quarter: Airbnb made a $219M profit last quarter, despite sales falling 18%.

Nespresso machine en suite... 5 stars. Investors are giving Airbnb some credit. Earlier this year, Airbnb's valuation plunged to $18B as it took out high-interest loans to cover guest refunds and $250M for hosts' losses. Then it majorly turned its desperate fate around, filed to IPO, and is expected to notch a $30B valuation.

  • The "work from anywhere" trend helped, as people seeked less bedroom-like pastures. Airbnb focused on small towns after noticing an uptick in local stays.
  • Brutal cost-slashing was also key to the comeback — Airbnb sadly laid off 25% of its employees. It also shed noncore businesses and halved exec pay.
THE TAKEAWAY

Airbnb needs to think like Uber (not like Lyft)... Airbnb is just a sharing platform for homes, like Lyft is just a ride-hailing platform. Meanwhile, Uber has become a platform to transport anything — from food, to cargo, to meds. If Airbnb becomes an "anything-sharing" platform (think: parking spaces, storage, boats, RVs) it could protect itself from pandemic pain — it warned that the recent COVID surge could bruise bookings this quarter.

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