It appeared that the disappointing tech IPOs of 2019, led by Uber and Lyft, and the collapse of WeWork, had calmed the IPO market and made buyers extra skeptical. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic then utterly cooled the market, however earlier than we even managed to get used to this new actuality, a budget and carefree cash celebration was already again underway. The primary and most anticipated upcoming IPO is that of American trip rental on-line market Airbnb, which filed its software with the U.S. Securities and Change Fee final week.
The Airbnb IPO has been talked about for over a yr, however was postponed as a result of Covid-19 and the intense blow the corporate suffered together with the complete trip sector. Along with the issues posed by the pandemic, Airbnb can be the final of a choose group of firms like Uber, Lyft and WeWork, that rose out of the 2008 disaster and the recession that adopted, that pushed the lots to a special sort of economic system – the notorious Gig Economic system. Airbnb was valued as excessive as $31 billion at its peak however arrives on the stock market having to cope with the problem posed by coronavirus in addition to the elevated hostility and query marks across the Gig Economic system.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photograph: Bloomberg
1. The stock market’s separation from actuality
Versus the human and financial devastation that Covid-19 has delivered to thousands and thousands of individuals internationally, the U.S. stock market has seemingly recovered unscathed. Wall Street is not Major Street and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are already again scaling their pre-pandemic heights. Many of the momentum has been supplied by the tech stocks, which surged greater than traditional as a result of work at home economic system and have become a protected harbor for buyers. That resulted in Apple turning into final week the primary firm to succeed in a value of $2 trillion, finishing an increase of 120% for the reason that begin of the pandemic within the U.S. In that very same time Tesla stock rose 470% and tech giants Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Fb all climbed by between 49% and 100%.
On the backdrop of those will increase and buyers being drawn to something that has any connection to expertise, a number of startups introduced their plans for an IPO. These firms embrace the likes of Snowflake Computing, meals supply app DoorDash, work administration software program firm Asana, grocery store supply supplier Instacar, and Peter Thiel’s software program firm Palantir. It’s estimated that over the approaching months, whereas the U.S. remains to be battling the pandemic and its ramifications, one other $80 billion can be making its method to America’s stock markets.
This sum remains to be nowhere close to the magnitude of the dot.com bubble, and clearly, the world is not required to stay at a standstill throughout a pandemic, however there’s nonetheless one thing jarring about these IPOs throughout a time wherein the financial and social actuality is so delicate. Not solely are none of those firms worthwhile and there’s no means of understanding after they is perhaps, however lots of them are additionally working in regulatory uncertainty, whether or not or not it’s the shortage of a worker-employee relationship at DoorDash and Instacart or the query marks and limitations hovering round Airbnb’s model.
2. Unstable regulatory setting
Airbnb is a really non-intuitive candidate for an IPO. The corporate operates in a market that has been virtually utterly paralyzed as a result of Covid-19 and it has been making an effort over current months to chop its workforce and turn out to be extra environment friendly. However it’s fairly laborious to really feel unhealthy for Airbnb after an extended record of research have proven repeatedly the devastating impression it has had on native communities wherein it rents residences and rooms, together with harming the availability of residences within the U.S., hurting the reasonably priced housing market, pushing up costs and making it more and more troublesome for younger individuals to search out housing in large cities.
These damaging ramifications have pushed regulators in lots of international locations to put heavy taxes on such firms and ban short-term leases. And all of that is taking place whereas the corporate is dealing with difficulties in sustaining the friends’ and the hosts’ security and seeing its title pop up in quite a few instances indicating systematic fraud and discrimination in opposition to renters.
And amid all of this, Airbnb is heading to an IPO. It’s one factor to handle numerous courtroom instances internationally attempting to keep away from paying taxes and to behave below regulatory uncertainty, in any case that may be a danger each Gig Economic system platform accepts whereas spending a fortune on a military of lobbyists. However what in regards to the new actuality of Covid-19 which has utterly shaken its exercise, limiting tourism journey and leading to an 85% drop in new orders on the platform (in line with analytics firm AidDNA)? And what in regards to the determination of many international locations to ban short-term leases with a view to forestall the unfold of the virus? How is Airbnb daring to embark on an IPO in these circumstances when the failed IPOs of different Gig Economic system unicorns are nonetheless recent within the reminiscence of buyers?
3. Ready for the storm to blow over
The reply, in line with many buyers and analysts, is the idea available in the market’s long-term well being. That is not a totally mistaken reply. At its base, Airbnb is a steady and enticing enterprise, regulators are appearing slowly and the shoppers love the product. However primarily, it’s those that hire out properties, the individuals who make Airbnb such a lovely asset, who do not actually perceive what enterprise they’re working. If your corporation will depend on a particular platform, you do not even have a enterprise. The property house owners reside in a fantasy world that they’re in management, however simply as Uber drivers cost in line with the costs dictated by the corporate and the identical means Amazon can take away or disguise merchandise on its platform, renters on Airbnb are additionally on the mercy of the corporate’s whims.
When the pandemic began Airbnb determined to permit cancelations with out cost with out even addressing the matter with the renters. On the identical time, it fired 1,900 staff, raised $1 billion and reduce its bills to enter one thing of a coma because it awaits to return to actual exercise. Within the meantime, many renters are struggling after being tempted to spend money on their asset in a perception that they might be getting cash off Airbnb. Now these shoppers don’t have any method to return their investments and a few of them have discovered themselves in what they’re calling the Airbnb apocalypse. In accordance with a research performed by GlobalData, many renters have already moved to a long-term or monthly-based rental model, which may be much less worthwhile however are safer. So long as the renters should cope with the chance by themselves whereas Airbnb is left with all of the glory, the corporate’s IPO may appear odd, however is however a chance for early buyers to comprehend earnings.
