I look at IPOs quite differently than most. For me, I am looking at the fundamental business. For me the usual questions are:
Does the company have a legitimate business advantage that can establish market dominance?
How easy is it to replicate the business?
Consumer trends - Who is using the product - young people vs older?
Revenue: Quarter over quarter increase? or a logical explanation if the rev is not growing.
*Consumer comments: Do people like the company so much that they tell their friend about it?
Based on this, I think AirBnB is a winner all around. The company has developed a platform and a brand loyalty that has basically eliminated most competition in this space. In fact, their competitors are so small that most could not even name them.
From a technology standpoint, it is relatively easy to replicate but the branding and loyalty to AirBnB is unrivaled so this is what creates their moat. First-mover advantage is strong is this sector and it is clear AirBnb has gained the first-mover advantage by a wide margin.
Consumer trends - Young people love it. As these consumers get older, their income will increase and they will book more through AirBnB. The very young will most likely start off using AirBnB and never use hotels directly.
Revenue - Showing consistent growth prior to COVID-19. With COVID-19 apparently on the way to being vaccinated away the "COVID-19 slump" is not a concern for me. I could see vacation spending soaring once COVID-19 fears subsidies with consumers.
Consumer comments - People love AirBnB so much that they tell their friends about it. There are some issues with fraud but my guess is over time, AirBnB will figure out how to snuff these bad hosts out of their platform.
Does the company have a legitimate business advantage that can establish market dominance?
How easy is it to replicate the business?
Consumer trends - Who is using the product - young people vs older?
Revenue: Quarter over quarter increase? or a logical explanation if the rev is not growing.
*Consumer comments: Do people like the company so much that they tell their friend about it?
Based on this, I think AirBnB is a winner all around. The company has developed a platform and a brand loyalty that has basically eliminated most competition in this space. In fact, their competitors are so small that most could not even name them.
From a technology standpoint, it is relatively easy to replicate but the branding and loyalty to AirBnB is unrivaled so this is what creates their moat. First-mover advantage is strong is this sector and it is clear AirBnb has gained the first-mover advantage by a wide margin.
Consumer trends - Young people love it. As these consumers get older, their income will increase and they will book more through AirBnB. The very young will most likely start off using AirBnB and never use hotels directly.
Revenue - Showing consistent growth prior to COVID-19. With COVID-19 apparently on the way to being vaccinated away the "COVID-19 slump" is not a concern for me. I could see vacation spending soaring once COVID-19 fears subsidies with consumers.
Consumer comments - People love AirBnB so much that they tell their friends about it. There are some issues with fraud but my guess is over time, AirBnB will figure out how to snuff these bad hosts out of their platform.