Airbnb beats on profit and revenue, stock is up

Shares of Airbnb rose about 9% in extended trading Tuesday after the company released fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates on top and bottom lines.

Here’s how the company did:

• EPS: 48 cents vs. 25 cents expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $1.90 billion vs. $1.86 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Revenue for the fourth quarter was up 24% year over year. Airbnb reported $319 million in net income for the quarter, up from $55 million a year earlier, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $506 million, surpassing the $432 million expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.

In its shareholder letter, Airbnb said it’s seeing continued strong demand at the start of 2023. The company said revenue in the first quarter will be between $1.75 billion and $1.82 billion, above the $1.69 billion expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Airbnb said it made difficult choices to cut spending during the pandemic but has modestly increased its head count over the past two years. The company said it expects to “continue hiring at a judicious pace in 2023” and that compared with 2019 its head count is down 5% while revenue is up 75%.

Gross booking value, which Airbnb uses to track host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees and taxes, totaled $13.5 billion in the fourth quarter. The company reported 88.2 million nights and experiences booked in the fourth quarter, up 20% year over year, but below the 89.7 million expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.

Airbnb said in the investor letter that travelers are returning to major cities, which has historically been one of the “strongest areas” of its business. The company said domestic and short-distance travel continued to be strong, but it saw “even further improvement” in longer-distance and cross-border travel during the quarter.

Airbnb said guest demand and supply growth remained strong throughout 2022.

Average daily rates decreased by 1% from a year ago to $153 in the fourth quarter. The company ended 2022 with 6.6 million active listings, which reflects an increase of over 900,000, or 16%, compared with 2021.

Airbnb said it’s “particularly encouraged” by market share gains in Latin America, continued recovery within Asia Pacific, and European travelers who are booking summer vacations early.

The company will hold its quarterly call with investors Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET.