Stephen Ju

Steven Ju asked about the halo effect observed after the Paris Olympics and its potential implications for the upcoming World Cup. He also asked Ellie Mertz about the larger spend buckets for 2026, given the need to spend an additional $800 million year-over-year to maintain flat margins with revenue growth.

Answer

Brian Chesky, Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, explained that the Paris Olympics was massive for business, driving 40,000 new hosts who continued hosting, and positioning Airbnb as a solution for cities. He expects the World Cup, spanning three countries, to be similarly impactful for supply recruitment and government relations. Ellie Mertz, CFO of Airbnb, stated that incremental investment will primarily be in sales and marketing (programmatic and go-to-market efforts for supply acquisition across all offerings) and product development to accelerate innovation, all within stable margins to achieve top-line acceleration.

Stephen Ju highlighted the massive total addressable market for Care.com and asked what factors are within IAC's control to accelerate growth and what needs to happen at the industry, consumer, and enterprise levels.

Answer

IAC CFO & COO Christopher Halpin acknowledged the large opportunity and outlined the strategy for Care.com. Key factors include improving the product to drive offline users online, introducing new pricing and packaging to better monetize visits, and expanding aggressively into the Senior Care and Pet Care verticals. He noted the primary hurdle has been product and marketing, which the recent relaunch aims to address.