Airbnb announces plans to go public in 2020

It may soon be judgment day for yet another unicorn.

Home rental company Airbnb announced Thursday that it plans to start selling its stock to the public next year.

The San Francisco-based company made the announcement through a brief statement on its Web site, but stopped short of providing any details.

Still, the news ends years of guessing and speculation as to when the Silicon Valley giant would have its market debut after CEO Brian Chesky said in April he would be ready to take it public as soon as this year.

On Wednesday, Airbnb said its second-quarter revenue exceeded $1 billion — the second time “in our history in which Airbnb revenue exceeded $1 billion.”

The company did not reveal its second-quarter earnings, but the sneak peek into revenue comes amid growing skepticism on Wall Street for Silicon Valley’s money-losing unicorns.

Office rental company WeWork delayed its IPO recently after an unenthusiastic response from investors. while ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft are currently trading below their public debut prices.

A public listing would mean a payout to the many venture capitalists that have poured money into Airbnb, including Adreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and Manhattan Venture Partners.

The company is currently valued at about $30 billion.

Airbnb said that, to-date, hosts have earned more than $80 billion by sharing their homes and spaces.

It also emphasizing its global reach.

The company is widely expected to debut its stock through what is known as a direct listing — a process that helps companies save millions in underwriting fees because no new shares are issued.

Uber shares, which are down 18.6 percent since its May IPO, closed Thursday down 1.3 percent at $33.82 per share.

Lyft shares, meanwhile, which are down 39.6 percent since its April IPO, closed Thursday up 1.4 percent at $47.28.