Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Airbnb recorded a 31% surge in gross bookings in the first quarter of this year, with a total booking value of $9.4 billion for the period. The Wall Street Journal reports Airbnb booked 91 million nights on its platform in Q1, and grew revenue 40% year-on-year in the period. According to WSJ, Airbnb had about $3.5 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of Q1 end (March 31st) this year.

If such report stands true, Airbnb could be leaving investors hungry for an IPO that the Wall Street Journal reports is scheduled for the first half of next year. $35 billion valued Airbnb is already profitable, making it stand out among several tech companies (e.g. Uber, Lyft, Medallia, Dynatrace, Livongo) that have gone public this year without being profitable. Three others that filed for an IPO just this week (WeWork, Cloudflare and SmileDirectClub) are also not profitable.

One other standout tech company is Zoom, a video communications company that had profits before going public this year. As of writing, Zoom trades at a $25.2 billion market cap, multiple times higher than its last private valuation of $1 billion. Airbnb is said to have booked a $100 million profit on $2.6 billion in revenue in 2017.

Being profitable and showing impressive growth could boost Airbnb to a valuation that’s much more than a current $35 billion if it goes public. The San Francisco-based company seems to be boosting business with acquisitions, having acquired three companies this year alone [Gaest, Urbandoor and HotelTonight].

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