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Airbnb is in the black for the first time. The short-term rental company based in San Francisco became profitable during the latter half of 2016, a source close to the company told CNET. Revenue increased more than 80% over 2015 and the private company is predicting it will remain profitable through this year.
The company, founded by chief product officer Joe Gebbia, chief technology officer Nathan Blecharczyk and CEO Brian Chesky (above), has also raised $3.1B in venture backing and is now the fourth-highest-valued venture-backed company in the world. It’s total valuation is $30B. The $3.1B raised remains on the balance sheet.
Talks of Airbnb going public are brewing now that it's profitable, but the company still has to fix some legal issues with regulators around the world, including in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans. The company recently said it would help local municipalities collect taxes from hosts and has been trying to be more cooperative with cities.
Airbnb has more than 2 million listings with hosts in 34,000 cities around the world. [CNET]
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