Airbnb has filed to go public, after bouncing back to profitability in the recent quarter. The rental online marketplace company plans to list its stock in the NASDAQ under the symbol ABNB. Its prospectus emphasizes on the need to build a community around hosts and guests renting properties.
Airbnb IPO
The company is going public under three stock classes. Class A stockholders will have one vote per share held, while Class B holders are entitled to 20 votes per share held. Class H, on the other hand, does not come with any voting rights and will target long time hosts.
The IPO news comes when the company has endured a tough year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the travel industry almost dead, the online rental company has struggled to attract deals as people refrain from traveling, opting to stay at home.
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Airbnb listings declined to record lows at the pandemic’s peak, in the first half of the year. Fast forward, the business has improved significantly as people come to terms with the epidemic and how to better handle it. However, there are concerns that the pandemic might have caused significant damage as some people who rely on Airbnb to pay living expenses and mortgages might have been knocked off the platform.
Airbnb Shrinking Financials
The company bounced back to profitability, generating $219 million in net income in the recent quarter. Revenue was down 19% to $1.34 billion. Airbnb turned in a net loss of $674 million in 2019 on revenues of $4.81 billion. Since the start of the year, the company’s net loss has widened to $697 million with revenues of $2.52 billion.
Early in the year, the company was forced to raise $1 billion in new debt funding to sustain operations amid the COVID-19 shocks. Likewise, it embarked on aggressive cost-cutting initiatives that resulted in the laying off of 25% of the company’s total work force. Airbnb also slashed marketing costs as the travel industry came to a halt.
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