In this Feb. 22, 2018, photo, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky speaks during an event in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Airbnb on Wednesday filed preliminary paperwork for selling stock on Wall Street, undaunted by a global pandemic that has taken some wind out of its home-sharing business.
The San Francisco-based company said it submitted a draft registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission. It kept details in the statement confidential.
Airbnb said the number of shares in the company it plans to sell and their price hasn’t yet been determined. The timing of the IPO also hasn’t been set.
Airbnb, which was founded 12 years ago, has long been expected to go public. Its CEO, Brian Chesky, told The Associated Press this summer that he was working on the IPO documents when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. in March.
The pandemic initially hurt demand for the 7 million properties listed by Airbnb. Chesky has said that Airbnb's 2020 revenue will likely be less than half of what the company booked last year.
In May, Airbnb cut 1,900 employees or around 25 percent of its workforce.
But demand has rebounded some as some travelers see home rentals as safer during the pandemic than crowded hotels. On July 8, the company said guests booked more than 1 million nights' worth of future business; it was the first time that threshold had been reached since March 3.
Ben Geman, Energy Reporter at Axios, joins to discuss the latest Middle East tensions, Brent crude price swings, and why gas prices aren’t falling with oil.
Al Root, Associate Editor at Barron's, joins to discuss Tesla’s robotaxis going live in Texas—what it means for autonomy, safety, and the EV race ahead.
Dena Jalbert, M&A expert and CEO of Align Business Advisory Services, on the state of U.S. M&A: deals worth $1–$10 billion (including debt) are surging.
Jeremy Jansen, Head of Supply Chain at Wells Fargo, unpacks the ongoing trade talks between the United States and China as consumers still wonder about tariffs.
A group of Democratic Texas lawmakers is asking Elon Musk to delay his rollout of driverless ‘robotaxis’ in the state this weekend to assure the vehicles are safe enough.
The billionaire slated to takeover the controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers has built a career leading businesses investing in everything from sports franchises to artificial intelligence.
IBM Fellow Jerry Chow talks IBM’s expansion of the Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, installing Heron processors that deliver utility‑scale performance.