It’s official: AirBnB launches an initial public offering (IPO).
The company announced in a widely reviewed press release after the market opened Wednesday that it had filed an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is essentially an official listing statement for a company that aims to list its shares on a stock exchange.
As usual with early stage IPO announcements, AirBnB did not indicate the number of shares it intended to sell, nor a price range for that share. It was also not immediately clear on which stock exchange the company was planning to list, or which companies might endorse what is certain of a sizable problem.
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The IPO scene has been lively in recent weeks due to the robust performance of the stock market (IPOs tend to cluster in times of optimism). However, AirBnB may have a tough sale for it; a Bloomberg article on August 12, titled “People familiar with the business,” stated that the company apparently has a year-over-year revenue decline of nearly 70% in its second quarter.
This is almost certainly due to the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak has kept many people at home and prevented them from traveling very far, let alone taking vacations (although the company may benefit from regional “staycation” activity).
The travel industry has been one of the hardest hits of all during this period, although it has shown signs of recovery now US coronavirus / COVID-19 statistics are trending downwards. Online travel agency (OTA) main step Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is still at 32% down from the annual price while archival Booking positions (NASDAQ: BKNG) has decreased by more than 9%.
