Another day, another blockbuster initial public offering (IPO).
A day after shares of food delivery company DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) nearly doubled in its IPO, Airbnb shares ended their first day of trading on Thursday up more than 112%.
Shares of Airbnb were originally priced at $68 U.S. Wednesday night, but enjoyed a massive jump Thursday afternoon when it opened trading at $146 U.S. per share. Shares closed the day at $144.71 U.S., giving the home-sharing company a market capitalization of $86.5 billion U.S., more than double the valuation it sought in the IPO pricing.
Airbnb’s market capitalization now surpasses hotel chains such as Marriott (NASDAQ:MAR) and Hilton (NYSE:HLT), as well as air carriers such as Delta Air Lines. The first-day stock price surge made Airbnb the 10th best debut in 2020 based on price gains from its IPO. Airbnb trades under the ticker symbol “ABNB” on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Airbnb has been battered this year by reduced-travel trends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its revenue shrank nearly 19% last quarter to $1.34 billion U.S. compared with the same period of 2019. But it still managed to turn a profit of $219 million U.S. and has had other quarters of profitability.
As part of its IPO, Airbnb has created an endowment fund for hosts consisting of 9.2 million nonvoting shares it set aside. Airbnb said in its IPO prospectus the fund would benefit hosts through programs and grants.