Airbnb Reports Better-than-expected Earnings Results, Revenue Experienced 70 Percent Growth

Shares of vacation rental company Airbnb were up more than 6 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday after reporting impressive results for its first quarter and issuing good guidance for the second quarter. Airbnb is starting to experience a rebound in bookings in its business as more people are beginning to travel more just as the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic continue to dissipate slowly.

Airbnb reported a loss per share of 3 cents compared to 29 cents that analysts had projected for the first quarter, according to Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $1.51 billion surpassing the estimate of $1.45 billion by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

First-quarter revenue grew 70 percent from the same period a year ago. This growth came amid challenges such as the pandemic, macroeconomic challenges, and the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Net loss for the quarter came in at $19 million compared to $1.2 billion from the same quarter a year ago.

Airbnb expects growth to come in strong in the current quarter. The company expects revenue to come in between 42.03 billion and $2.13 billion. Analysts, on the other hand, project second-quarter revenue to come in at $1.96 billion. The lower end of Airbnb’s guidance for revenue would represent a growth of about 52 percent.

The company, however, noted that bookings were prone to risks such as “additional Covid outbreaks, any impact to travel from the conflict in Ukraine, and consumer price sensitivity.”

Airbnb reported 102.1 million nights and experiences booked in the first quarter. It is pertinent to know that this surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Analysts had projected bookings of 100.87 million nights and experiences, per StreetAccount.

Airbnb said it had 30 percent more nights booked for the summer travel season than from the same period a year ago. This showed that people became more confident in making their bookings in advance.

Airbnb reported gross booking value of $17.2 billion surpassing Wall Street’s estimate of $16.54 billion and up 67 percent YoY. Gross booking value covers host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees, and taxes.

Average daily rates were up from the same period last year to $168. The company, however, expects this to be flat in the current quarter on a YoY basis. “Stable ADR in Q2 2022 suggests that Nights and Experiences Booked growth in Q2 will be a good indicator of GBV growth in Q2, both on a year-over-year basis,” the company said.

Airbnb suspended its services in Russia and Belarus in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. The company has been offering temporary housing for refugees and has provided up to 100,000 people with temporary housing to date. The company saw supporters book listings in Ukraine with no intention to stay as a way of showing their support.