Sharing economy

Airbnb agrees stock split

Airbnb’s board is thought to have approved a two-for-one split of privately held shares before the company's planned IPO.

The company is expected to go public before the end of the year.

Before the split, the shares were valued at $69.76 each as of 30 September, up 10.4% compared with $63.15 at the end of Q2.

Airbnb confidentially filed with the SEC to go public, with the number of shares and price range yet to be revealed. 

The timing of the move was questioned by observers, with the public markets in a lull and a reported 67% drop in revenue for the second quarter at the platform.

Prior to the pandemic Airbnb had planned to IPO this year, with a direct listing mooted, which would have allowed its investors to exit, but without raising additional cash.

Reports suggested that the company saw revenue fall to $335m in the period ending June 30, with a loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $400m. Bookings were down 30% in June from a year earlier, compared with a 70% decline in May. The company reported an adjusted loss of $341m in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $292m a year earlier.