Turo on Thursday withdrew its plans for an IPO, ending a three-year wait to bring the online car-sharing network to the public marketplace, according to a regulatory filing.
Turo, which was founded in 2010, allows private car owners to rent out their vehicles through the startup’s website or app. The company — sometimes described as the Airbnb for cars — publicly filed in January 2022 for an initial public offering, but IPO conditions changed soon afterward. Its growth decelerated, too.
Turo’s decision to end its IPO plans comes just one day after peer-to-peer car-sharing company Getaround shut down its U.S. operations. Like Turo, Getaround began life as a venture-backed company. Unlike Turo, Getaround made the leap back onto the public market in 2022 via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.
Turo is still operating in the United States — and elsewhere. As of September 2024, the company reported it had 150,000 active hosts globally, with 350,000 active vehicle listings and 3.5 million active guests. The company also operates in Canada, Australia, and France.
Turo CEO Andre Haddad said in an emailed statement the board “decided now is not the right time for Turo to pursue a public offering.”
Haddad noted Turo’s strong performance with revenue growing $150 million in 2020 to $958 million in 2024 and hinted at the company’s investment plans for the future.
“We plan to take advantage of our company’s plans to remain private in order to make important investments in the business that will build long term value for all stakeholders,” he said. “Our relentless focus on creating an amazing experience for our hosts and guests has enabled us to outperform all competitors in this space and we have become the leader in all the markets we operate in (US, Canada, France, Australia, and the UK).”
While the company’s revenue has steadily climbed, its growth rate has slowed.
The company reported revenue of $469 million in 2021, representing 213% year-over-year growth due to a combination of factors, including a boost from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to regulatory filings. Revenue popped again in 2022 to $746.6 million, but at a lower 59% year-over-year growth compared to the prior year. Revenue increased in 2023 to $879.7 million, representing 18% year-over-year growth.
The company has been profitable since 2022 on net income at $154.7 million, although that result dipped to $14.7 million in 2023. The company has not reported full-year results for 2024.
In other words, business cratered in 2023, then recovered in 2024, but not quite to the levels needed for that IPO dream.
