The company that is sure to be a top -- if not the top -- initial public offering of 2020 has witnessed steep falls in key fundamentals recently. An article published Thursday by Bloomberg citing "people familiar with the matter" said that Airbnb was hit with a year-over-year drop of at least 67% in revenue for its second quarter, which ended on June 30.
The article's sources say that in Q2 2019, the do-it-yourself vacation rental website operator earned over $1 billion on the top line. That figure slipped to $842 million in Q1 of this year before dropping precipitously to $335 million the following quarter.
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In terms of profitability (or lack thereof), Airbnb's loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization was apparently $400 million in Q2; the Q1 shortfall was $341 million.
As Airbnb is still a privately held company, it does not yet make its finances public.
Travel and tourism have been particularly damaged by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. A great many would-be travelers are staying home as per mandates and recommendations by health authorities, badly hurting the operations of airlines, accommodation providers like Airbnb, and tour operators.
Long rumored to be planning an IPO, Airbnb has also been the subject of recent chatter in the last few days following an article published Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal.
That piece, which also cited "people familiar with the matter," said that the company aimed to file the necessary regulatory documents required for a flotation this month. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are among the issue's underwriters, according to the Journal.
Airbnb has not yet commented on either article.
