Airbnb’s stock soared on Thursday in its highly anticipated public market debut, closing at $144.71 per share, more than double its initial offering of $68 per share. That price also gives the short-term rental giant an approximately $86.5 billion valuation.
Airbnb soared 115 per cent at the open of its trading debut on Thursday, giving the home-sharing service a market valuation of more than $100 billion.
The stock opened at $146 and hit an intraday high of $165, representing a gain of 143 per cent from its initial public offering price of $68.
That makes Airbnb more valuable than the seven largest US hotel chains combined, including Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Marriott International is worth $41 billion, Hilton Worldwide is worth $29 billion, and Hyatt is worth $7 billion. Airbnb also surpassed its largest rival among online travel agencies (OTAs) Booking com closed at $86.2 billion on Thursday.
Airbnb’s private valuation fluctuated dramatically this year, dropping from $31 billion to $18 billion as the COVID-19 pandemic devastated its business, forcing the company to lay off 25 percent of its workforce and raise more than $2 billion in debt and equity financing, and even calling the timing of its IPO into question.
Airbnb priced its IPO at $68 per share, raising $3.5 billion in proceeds at a valuation of $47 billion. That’s in stark contrast to the company’s last fundraising round as a private company in April, when the firm raised $1 billion at a valuation of $18 billion.