- "The valuation gap doesn't make sense," says Macquarie's Tom White following a recent WSJ report stating online home-rental platform Airbnb is in talks to raise ~$1B at a whopping $24B valuation. HomeAway's (AWAY -1.2%) market cap is currently $2.97B.
- White does admit Airbnb is growing much faster - the company is reportedly targeting 2015 revenue of $900M, a figure implying a 90% CAGR from 2013-2015. HomeAway did 2014 revenue of $446.8M, and is respectively forecast by the Street to grow 11.3% and 16.5% in 2015 and 2016.
- However, White also notes HomeAway is solidly profitable. Airbnb reportedly expects a $150M 2015 op. loss as it continues investing aggressively. It expects to turn profitable in future years, and deliver $3B in 2020 EBITDA (on the back of $10B in revenue).
- Airbnb is often viewed as a major long-term threat to HomeAway. HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples has insisted his company, which primarily handles secondary home rentals, has limited overlap with Airbnb.