WeWork Made $900M In Revenue In 2017, Plans To Open 200 New Locations In 2018
WeWork brought in almost $1B in revenue in 2017 — the year it revealed its plan to become a ubiquitous part of its members' lives — when it nearly doubled its global footprint, the company's president revealed.
Artie Minson, who also serves as WeWork's chief financial officer, told Bloomberg WeWork brought in $900M in revenue last year as it opened 90 buildings around the world, including its first in South America and Paris. Because of its scale, the company was able to reduce construction costs to build out its co-working locations by about $5K per desk, which could save it more than $100K at some of its bigger locations.
Minson told Bloomberg the company would be profitable if it were not spending on growth plans and new business lines, such as its Rise by We gym concept and WeGrow, the private elementary school it plans on launching in New York City this year. Projected growth will continue even more in 2018, as the company plans on expanding its footprint from more than 200 locations to 400, according to Bloomberg.
WeWork, valued at $20B and backed by more than $4B from investor SoftBank, will likely target major companies for some of its new locations, like it is doing in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. WeWork signed a 122K SF lease in the same neighborhood where Google has become a dominant presence, with the goal of attracting a major company to fill the entirety of the location.
