WeWork Losses Top $4.4B, But Earnings Report Still Tinged With Optimism

WeWork's losses in 2021 exceeded those of 2020 by some $1.3B, but the losses reported in its second earnings statement since beginning to trade on the New York Stock Exchange in October were tempered by quarter-over-quarter revenue gains. 

The coworking giant reported on Friday that it lost more than $4.4B in 2021, an increase from about $3.1B in 2020, though almost half of its losses ($2B) for 2021 were in the first quarter of the year.

Since then, the company's quarterly losses have tapered: $888M in Q2 2021, $802M in Q3 and $715M in Q4. Revenue for 2021 totaled more than $2.5B, increasing each quarter of the year, from $597.8M in Q1 to $717.7M in Q4.

Occupancy at its locations during the fourth quarter was 66%, up from 60% in the third quarter, WeWork reports, as the company continues its expansion this year.

In January, WeWork acquired Common Desk, a Dallas-based coworking operator with 23 locations in Texas and North Carolina that operates a majority of its locations under asset-light management agreements with landlords. The deal closed in March.

In February, WeWork announced an investment in Upflex, a platform that aggregates over 4,800 coworking locations worldwide.

Earlier this week, WeWork said that it is closing up shop in Russia.

"We unequivocally condemn the unprovoked and unjust war that is bringing senseless devastation to the people of Ukraine," the company said in a statement. "We have been finalizing solutions to divest operations in Russia and we’ve suspended all expansion plans for the business in this region."

WeWork went public in October 2021 after finalizing a merger with special-purpose acquisition company BowX Acquisition Corp. WeWork stock edged up 0.8% on Friday but has dropped from a peak of about $13 a share post-IPO to $5.01 a share earlier today.