airbnb has decided to take the plunge: the listing on the Nasdaq it is now upon us. The online platform for short-term rentals filed the documents for the IPO with the SEC, the American Consob, on Monday, in view of the landing on the list of technological stocks. The launch date of the initial public offering is not yet known, but the group still had to lift the veil on the accounts, revealing that the third quarter ended with a return to profit (+219 million dollars), against revenues of 1,34 billion. Over the nine months, however, turnover fell by 32%, to 2,5 billion.
The pandemic has had a significant impact (the company fired 1.900 employees in May, around 25% of the total), but AirBnb was losing money even before Covid-19 hit. In fact, turnover was 4,8 billion in 2019 (for a growth of 32% on an annual basis), but the year had still closed in the red by 674 million. The 2018 and 2017 financial statements are also at a loss.
However, the company looks to the future with optimism: "We believe the lines between travel and life are blurring and that the global pandemic has accelerated the ability to live anywhere," explains Airbnb, which says it currently has 7,4 million listings served by 4 million hosts, of which 86% outside the US. Globally, 2019 million people stayed in a rented apartment on Airbnb in 54.
Born 12 years ago from the idea of two designers and a computer engineer, Airbnb has grown impetuously over time, to the point that some municipalities have become annoyed, accusing the company of promoting excessive tourism and making residential neighborhoods less affordable, taking homes off the market. That's why cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Barcelona and Paris have passed laws limiting rentals on Airbnb.
