Airbnb and DoorDash went public the same week in early December and were both met with strong demand from investors. But in their first earnings reports as publicly traded companies on Thursday, the two sharing economy businesses signaled very different possible paths forward after the pandemic ends.
In a letter to investors, Airbnb said it is «preparing for the travel rebound» in 2021 after seeing bookings through its platform drop 41% in 2020 as people largely stayed home due to the pandemic. «As the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions lift, we expect there will be a significant travel rebound,» the company wrote in the letter. DoorDash, by contrast, has benefited greatly from people ordering food and essential items while staying at home, with revenue of $2.89 billion last year, more than tripling from the year prior.
