It’s been a long time coming. Speculation over Airbnb’s initial public offering has been in the works for at least half a decade. …
It’s been a long time coming. Speculation over Airbnb’s initial public offering has been in the works for at least half a decade. On Thursday, the short-term home rental company made its debut on Wall Street with its share price opening at $146 and closing the day at $144 per share. That’s more than double the $68 price Airbnb set on Wednesday night before trading kicked off. And far higher than the $44 to $50 per share target range the company initially announced earlier this month. Airbnb’s share price skyrocketed during early trading, at one point rising as much as 140%. The high share price puts the company’s valuation at around $100.7 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, meaning it’s now worth more than the Marriott and Hilton hotel chains combined. Earlier this year, during a fundraising round in April, Airbnb was privately valued at about $18 billion. Unlike many other Silicon Valley startups, Airbnb has periodically shown it can turn a profit. That has impressed investors who are betting the San Francisco-based tech company can make its mark on the travel industry. Since it launched in 2008, Airbnb has gone from a website accommodating couch surfers to one that has a massive online presence.
