Airbnb reports a Q4 revenue of $859 million, surpassing analyst expectations despite its 'frenzied' IPO and COVID-19

• Airbnb on Thursday reported $859 million in Q4 revenue, surpassing analyst expectations.
• Airbnb saw a "frenzied" IPO in December 2020 and weathered a battered travel industry amid COVID-19.
• Better days may be ahead for the platform as pent-up demand for travel remains high.

Airbnb beat analyst expectations in its Q4 earnings report on Thursday despite a tumult ous IPO and COVID-19, which has weathered the travel industry.

Airbnb reported $859 million in Q4 revenue, down 22% compared to $1.1 billion in 2019. However, it still surpassed analyst expectations, which projected a Q4 revenue of $747.6 million, according to Yahoo Finance. During this time, Airbnb saw 46.3 million booked nights and "experiences," amounting to a gross booking value of $5.9 billion.

The platform had originally predicted a revenue decline in 2020 compared to 2019 due to COVID-19. As a result, last year, the platform brought in $3.4 billion, which is 30% less than its 2019 revenue of $4.8 billion.

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"Our performance in 2020 showed that Airbnb is resilient and inherently adaptable," Brian Chesky, Airbnb's CEO, said in the press release. "Travel is coming back and we are laser-focused on preparing for the travel rebound."

In December, the company saw a highly anticipated but wildly "frenzied" IPO that left its CEO Brian Chesky speechless ahead of its debut and the company with a $2.8 billion expense. As a result, Airbnb registered a GAAP loss of $3.9 billion in Q4 2020, and $4.6 billion in 2020.

The platform is still riding out the COVID-19 storm that ultimately decimated the travel industry, although it still fared better than many of its competitors. But things may be looking up for the home rental platform as vaccine rollout continues across the US and pent up demand for travel continues to stay steady.

Now, Airbnb's main priority for this coming year is to prepare itself for the impending return of travel.

"As the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions lift, we expect there will be a significant travel rebound. Our single priority in 2021 is to prepare for this travel rebound, perfecting our existing product by improving the entire end-to-end experience of our core service for both Hosts and guests," the company said in a statement.