Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb
Mike Segar | Reuters
Airbnb beat Wall Street estimates for profit and published income that was in line with estimates for the second quarter. The company also announced a $2 billion share buyback program.
Shares fell nearly 9% after hours, despite what appeared to be a strong report, suggesting Wall Street is looking for faster growth and earnings growth. The company also said it was affected flight cancellation at the end of the quarter.
Here are the key numbers:
- Earnings per share: Analysts expected $0.43, versus $0.56, according to Refinitiv.
- Income: Analysts were expecting $2.11 billion, versus $2.10 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Airbnb, Like Uber, benefited from increased consumer spending on activities as opposed to goods. Revenue rose 58% year-over-year to $2.1 billion, helping the company drive its most profitable second quarter to date. Still, this growth was slower than last quarter, when revenue rose 70% in the first quarter of 2020.
Airbnb reported net income of $379 million, up from a loss of $68 million in the previous quarter.
The company said it tightened costs at the height of the pandemic, helped it become leaner and more focused, and adapted its business as travel continued to change. But it saw some impact from canceled flights.
“We saw some higher cancellations in the back quarter than we expected,” Airbnb CFO Dave Stephenson said on a call with investors. “We believe some of the higher cancellations are due to flight cancellations around the world, but this occurred in North America towards the end of the second quarter of 2022.”
Airbnb expects record third-quarter revenue despite headwinds from foreign exchange, particularly the euro’s weaker volatility against the dollar. It reported third-quarter revenue of $2.78 billion to $2.88 billion, ahead of StreetAccount’s estimate of $2.77 billion. The company said it broke a single-day revenue record on July 4, signaling a strong summer season ahead.
For the second quarter, Airbnb reported more than 103 million nights and experiences booked. That’s the company’s biggest quarterly figure ever, but it was shortchanged by StreetAccount estimates of 106.4 million nights and experiences booked.
Total booking value, which Airbnb uses to track host income, service fees, cleaning fees and taxes, rose 27% year over year to $17 billion in the second quarter. This was slower than the 67% growth posted in the first quarter.
While many companies have called employees back to the office, extended stays, where guests stay 28 days or more, remained Airbnb’s fastest-growing segment, up 25% from the year-ago quarter.
The company said total nights booked for cross-border travel surpassed pre-pandemic levels during the quarter and doubled compared to the same quarter last year.
Average daily rates rose 40% to $164 in 2019 compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is up 7% from the same quarter last year, excluding the effects of currency fluctuations. The company expects ADR to be flat on a year-over-year basis in the third quarter.
