Airbnb‘s record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) pricing topped expectations, with a share price of $68 on a $47 billion valuation, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday (Dec. 10).
The original target range set earlier this week was $56 to $60 a share. The IPO was led by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, and Nasdaq trading is scheduled to start Thursday (Dec. 10) under the ticker “ABNB.” The Silicon Valley home-rental startup is hoping to raise about $3.7 billion.
Lockdowns and travel restrictions have been especially hard on Airbnb, with second quarter layoffs and the sell-off of non-core units. The measures, along with an uptick in local travel, helped the company turn around in the last quarter, posting $219 million in net income on revenues of $1.34 billion — an improvement for 2020, but down almost 19 percent from 2019.
Airbnb follows DoorDash’s stock market debut during a time when IPO filings are breaking records, with in excess of $140 billion raised on U.S. exchanges. The previous record of $107 billion was set during the dotcom heyday in 1999, the WSJ said.
Recent U.S. IPO filings have included software developer C3.ai; pet retailer Petco; video game maker Roblox; buy now, pay later platform Affirm; discount eCommerce platform Wish; GoodRx and others.
“We believe that the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced that travel is an enduring human desire, even in the face of challenges,” Airbnb said in its S-1 filing with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). “People have increasingly sought travel options closer to home during COVID-19, and Airbnb’s offerings are well-suited to adapt to this changing dynamic.”
