Airbnb filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday (Nov. 16) for an initial public offering (IPO) that will reportedly value the travel giant at some $30 billion.
According to a Form S-1 filed with the SEC, the company applied to list its Class A common stock under the “ABNB” ticker symbol on the Nasdaq.
Airbnb, which as a private company doesn’t currently release quarterly results, also gave a rare peak at its finances. The company reported as part of the filing that it made $219.33 million in the third quarter on revenue of $1.34 billion.
However, Airbnb also reported a $696.87 million net loss on $2.52 billion in revenues for 2020’s first nine months. Airbnb has suffered during the pandemic as users canceled reservations en masse and stopped traveling for the most part because of fears about catching the virus. The firm only had an estimated $18 billion valuation as of April, down from a previously projected $31 billion valuation.
“COVID-19 has materially adversely affected our recent operating and financial results and is continuing to materially adversely impact our long-term operating and financial results,” the company wrote in its prospectus. “However, we believe that as the world recovers from this pandemic, Airbnb will be a vital source of economic empowerment for millions of people.
“Our guests are not transactions — they are engaged, contributing members of our community,” the company wrote. “Once they become a part of Airbnb, guests actively participate in our community, return regularly to our platform to book again, and recommend Airbnb to others who then join themselves.”
In October, news surfaced that Airbnb would list its shares on the Nasdaq, likely making it that market’s largest listing since Facebook's $16 billion IPO in 2012, according to a published report.
The Nasdaq usually hosts tech-focused stocks, and recently saw high-profile IPOs such as those of Zoom and Lyft. But because of the fallout from Facebook’s troubled IPO years ago, the Nasdaq has sometimes lost high-profile IPOs to the New York Stock Exchange.
