US IPO Market: In Biggest Listing, Airbnb Valuation Crosses $100 Billion In Trading Debut

The IPO opened at $146 on the Nasdaq, far above the IPO price of $68 per share that raised $3.5 billion for the company

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US IPO Market: In one of the biggest initial public offering in the US, shares of home rental firm Airbnb Inc more than doubled in its stock market debut on Thursday, valuing the company at just over $100 billion. The IPO looks like a silver lining to the recovery of the company’s fortunes after it was severely impacted by the pandemic. Things to know about debut performance of Airbnb listing The listing came 10 months after the pandemic hit the travel industry, and  almost 24 hours after DoorDash Inc. soared in its public debut. The IPO opened at $146 on the Nasdaq, far above the IPO price of $68 per share that raised $3.5 billion for the company. The stock hit a high of $165 and closed at $144.71. As per the Bloomberg, on the basis of its outstanding shares and its market value, Airbnb is considered as the world’s biggest online travel company. Its $86.5 billion market value narrowly tops Booking Holdings Inc.’s $86.2 billion market capitalization, and overshadows Expedia Group Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. It is interesting to note that the Airbnb's market value, about 19 or 20 times its 2021 revenue at the opening price on Thursday, also pipped that of the four largest public hotel chains combined. San Francisco-based Airbnb’s fully diluted valuation is even higher, around $100 billion including employee stock options and restricted stock units. The San Francisco-based firm was able to post a surprise profit as the lockdown restrictions eased paving way for more travelers opting to book homes instead of hotels. It has also gained from increased interest in renting homes away from major cities. At some poitnt, Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky believed that not many people expected to see an Airbnb IPO this year. He added that the plans to go public was put on hold and the IPO debut comes as a comeback for several hosts, and especially travel. Joe Gebbia, Brian Chesky, and Nathan Blecharczyk co-founded the company in 2008 with the idea of renting air mattresses in their San Francisco apartments, and the company now has more than 7 million short-term listings worldwide. The company founded has now emerged as one of the most anticipated IPOs of 2020, which has already been a record year for stock market listings.