Last week Airbnb and DoorDash went public with breath taking valuations. Airbnb closed Friday with a market capitalization of $83 billion and DoorDash's came in at $55 billion.
As the chart below shows, they aren't alone. Other gig economy online marketplaces have also achieved huge financial success.
To put these numbers in perspective, Airbnb is worth more than Marriott ($42 billion) and Hilton ($29 billion) combined.
Other notable firms to compare with include the global chemicals giant Dupont ($47 billion), the large financial institution Capital One ($41 billion) and the food and cereal giant General Mill ($36 billion).
Interestingly enough, the much maligned Uber ($92 billion) tops the list. While their core business of rides has been hit hard by the pandemic, their food delivery business has benefitted.
As the Financial Times article Airbnb and DoorDash IPOs leave gig economy issues unresolved points out, most of these firms are still not profitable. Key quote on the combined losses of Airbnb, DoorDash, Uber and Lyft:
But that has not translated into profits. Even the flattering financial metric these companies prefer to be judged by — adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation — showed all four to be lossmaking in the 12 months leading up to their listings, with some $3.3bn in red ink between them. So are their business models half-baked, or just half-evolved?
And the Wall Street Journal article Sizzling Tech IPO Market Leaves Investors Befuddled also points that even the companies themselves are stunned and concerned about their valuations.
Stock prices and market caps are subject to rapid change (to say the least), and as the financial ads say, past performance is not an indicator of future results.
But the rapid rise (most of the firms on the chart above are less than 10 years old) and financial success of online gig marketplaces show how big and important the gig economy and independent work have become.