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WeWork reveals massive losses

NEW YORK (AP) — WeWork’s parent company gave investors the most detailed look yet at its finances Wednesday, revealing breakneck growth on the back of massive losses as the office-sharing company prepares for a highly anticipated debut on the stock market.

Founded as a co-working space in Manhattan in 2010, WeWork has grown to become among the biggest corporate landlords in some cities. It now has 527,000 members in 111 cities worldwide, according to the regulatory filing by parent firm, The We Company. That’s nearly double the 268,000 members it had in the prior-year period.

WeWork, whose initial public offering is expected in September, will be the latest in a string of large money-losing enterprises to test its luck on the stock market this year, following Uber and Lyft. The company’s revenue has more than doubled annually over the last few years, but its losses have grown just as quickly.

In 2018, it lost $1.61 billion while bringing in $1.82 billion in revenue. Its latest filing showed the company on track for another year of impressive growth, having generated $1.54 billion in the first half of 2019. But it also lost $689.7 million in that same period.

Investors are looking for a clearer picture of how the venture capital darling plans to chart a path toward profitability, and whether WeWork’s business model can withstand an economic downturn.

WeWork mostly makes money by renting buildings and dividing them into trendy office spaces that it sublets to members. But the company has branched out widely, from acquiring a marketing software company to launching a business-focused school for children and buying a large stake in a wave pool company.

The company is one of the most highly valued privately held companies in the world, at $47 billion.

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