WeWork's CFO says it will generate $2 billion in profit on the desks it's opened this year, and it's proof the 'space as a service' model is working

Jackal Pan/Reuters

Adam Neumann, chief executive officer of U.S. co-working firm WeWork, speaks during a signing ceremony in Shanghai, China April 12, 2018.

• WeWork's 100%-plus growth rate on all of its key quarter one numbers shows that its approach to "space as a service" is working, co-president and chief financial officer Artie Minson told Business Insider.
• The firm's revenue doubled year-over-year, to $689 million, last quarter.
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WeWork doubled its revenue in the first quarter, and it's gearing up for even more growth.

The company now has $3.4 billion in multi-year agreements with big companies, a major revenue driver as it moves away from overseeing coworking spaces for small startups and into managing office space for big companies.

For the first time, that figure is now bigger than its total run-rate revenue of $3 billion - a key sign of how important its enterprise business is, chief financial officer Artie Minson told Business Insider in an interview.

WeWork wants to be seen as more than a traditional landlord by offering a variety of services, from networking groups to tech-driven insights about space utilization. With its enterprise business, WeWork could oversee a company's real estate footprint across the world.

In the first three months of the year, revenue more than doubled year-over-year to $728 million, according to an earnings presentation reviewed by Business Insider.

We Work also added 82,000 desks during that time. The company says those desks will generate $9 billion of revenue over their life and $2 billion of profit.

See more: WeWork's CEO explains why he thinks his $47 billion company is recession proof, and how he keeps his ego in check as a young billionaire

"We fundamentally believe we're at a paradigm shift on how physical space is being consumed. The world is never going back to 250 square feet per employee," vice chairman Michael Gross told Business Insider.

WeWork's international presence is an increasingly key growth driver, too. However, it's driving average revenue per membership down - to $6,340 last quarter - as the company opens in cheaper locations, such as China and Latin America, Minson said. He added that membership revenue city-by-city is up, though the overall figure declined year-over-year.