"Airbnb says it's been profitable for two years straight as it heads for IPO"

A different kind of unicorn vs Uber or WeWork We.

From CNBC:

• The company expects to hit 500 million guest arrivals by the end of the first quarter this year.
• That would be 100 million new guest arrivals since its last stated total in August 2018.
• Airbnb is one of several unicorns gearing up for a public debut this year, alongside private tech giants like Uber, Lyft and WeWork.

Airbnb posted its second straight year of profitability on an adjusted basis as it heads toward a possible IPO, the start-up announced Tuesday.

Airbnb is one of several giant private tech companies gearing up for a public debut this year, alongside Uber, Lyft and WeWork. But Airbnb is eyeing the offering with two years of EBITDA profits, according to a company blog post. EBITDA is a measure of operating profits before financing-related expenses like interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The company expects to hit 500 million guest arrivals by the end of the first quarter this year — that's the number of completed bookings since the company's founding in 2008. That would be 100 million new guest arrivals since its last stated total in September 2018....

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