Airbnb is projecting it will earn (before interest and taxes and depreciation) as much as USD 3.5 billion a year by 2020, according to sources close to the company. That's more than the bottom lines of 85% of the companies in the Fortune 500. It would also be a 3,400% increase from what the company had in similar profits last year, based on numbers provided by those sources.
The bottom line growth would be a huge achievement for the home and apartment sharing company that just a few years ago was among a number of so-called Unicorns that seemed to have a lot of potential, but not much in the way of profits. It would also make Airbnb the first company to prove that the so-called sharing economy can be turned into sustainable success. That's something that Uber, the sector's other superstar, has yet to prove.
The numbers are according to a source familiar with the company's internal estimates, and haven't previously been made public, though Bloomberg previously reported the company turned its first profit in 2016.
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