Airbnb Says It Made a Profit Again in 2018
A spokesperson declined to provide an exact figure.
(Bloomberg) -- Airbnb Inc. said it made money for a second straight year, based on a common measure that excludes some expenses, as the online home-rental service prepares for an initial public offering.
Airbnb said in a memo that it generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in 2018. A spokesperson declined to provide an exact figure. The company exceeded financial projections for 2017, with $93 million in profit on $2.6 billion in revenue, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg last February.
With its last valuation at about $31 billion, Airbnb Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky has pledged to hold an IPO for the 10-year-old company before 2020 when some employee stock grants expire.
Dave Stephenson, a longtime Amazon.com Inc. executive, joined Airbnb as chief financial officer this month. The role, which will be key in preparations for an IPO, was previously filled by Laurence Tosi, who left amid a disagreement last year over when to take the company public.
By the end of the first quarter of 2019, the San Francisco-based company said there will have been more than 500 million guest arrivals in its listings since it was founded in 2008. Hosts and guests have left more than 250 million reviews, according to the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Krista Gmelich in New York at kgmelich1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Molly Schuetz
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