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Airbnb Plans to Unveil Its Financials Next Thursday Ahead of IPO

Airbnb Inc. plans to open its books to investors as soon as next Thursday ahead of a much-anticipated initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Bloomberg
By Bloomberg
5 Nov
Airbnb Online Marketplace Illustrations As IPO Prospects Diminish AirBnb Inc. signage is displayed on an smartphone in an arranged photograph taken in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Friday, April 17, 2020. Home-sharing leader Airbnb Inc. lined up $1 billion in debt boosting a financial cushion it can use to grow and pay bills as the global coronavirus pandemic crushes demand for travel and diminishes the prospect of an initial public offering. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

The home-rental startup, which said in August it filed confidentially for a listing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will make those documents and its financial information public for the first time. Airbnb is aiming to raise as much as $3 billion in an IPO on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, Bloomberg has reported, in what would be one of the biggest listings this year. Timing of the filing could still change, said the people, who declined to be named discussing private information.

Airbnb’s listing will come in a tight window for public debuts during an eventful year. Covid-19 and the uncertain outcome of the U.S. presidential election had led companies to think twice before tapping the market, while the holiday calendar in the remainder of the year means there is a shorter time frame to get deals done.

A representative for Airbnb declined to comment. Reuters earlier reported on the filing coming next week. While Airbnb had been sending incremental updates to the market signaling its debut is on the way, filing the prospectus will serve as a key milestone. It will be allowed to start taking orders for shares from investors 15 days after the documents are available. Airbnb is expected to be trading in early December.

Airbnb is pushing through with its IPO despite a tumultuous year that almost saw plans scrapped with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. As Covid-19 shut down global travel, Airbnb saw its bookings plummet and revenue tumble. The company cut a quarter of its staff in May with reservations down 70% from a year earlier. However, Airbnb bounced back faster than expected over the summer. In June, bookings were down only 30% compared with the same month in 2019. The surge in demand was driven by travelers seeking nearby vacation rentals to escape shuttered cities and take advantage of remote work policies.

More: Airbnb Chooses IPO Venue in Big Win for Nasdaq Over NYSE (2)

The San Francisco-based company was valued at $18 billion in April when it raised $2 billion in debt from investors at the depth of the pandemic. That was a significant drop from its earlier peak valuation of $31 billion in a 2017 fundraising round. The quicker-than-expected rebound from the pandemic has brought the company’s valuation back to $22 billion at end of September, based on the value of its common shares at a recent stock split, Bloomberg News reported.

If it raises the $3 billion it hopes to, Airbnb’s offering would be the third-biggest on Nasdaq, topped only by Facebook Inc.’s $16 billion IPO in 2012 and Mondelez International Inc.’s $8.68 billion listing in 2001.

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