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