Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb
Mike Segar | Portal
Airbnb’s shares rose about 9% in extended trading on Tuesday after the company released its fourth-quarter results, which beat analysts’ estimates for revenue and earnings.
Here’s how the company did it:
- EPS: 48 cents versus 25 cents expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $1.90 billion versus $1.86 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 24% year over year. Airbnb reported net income of $319 million for the quarter, up from $55 million a year earlier, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Payback of $506 million, which exceeded $432 million expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.
In its letter to shareholders, Airbnb said it sees continued strong demand in early 2023. The company said first-quarter revenue will be between $1.75 billion and $1.82 billion, up from the $1.69 billion expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Airbnb said it has made tough decisions to cut spending during the pandemic but has slightly increased its headcount over the past two years. The company said it expects to “continue hiring at a reasonable pace in 2023” and that headcount was down 5% compared to 2019, while revenue was up 75%.
Gross booking value, which Airbnb uses to track host revenue, service fees, cleaning fees and taxes, totaled $13.5 billion in the fourth quarter. The company reported 88.2 million room nights and experiences booked in the fourth quarter, according to StreetAccount, up 20% year over year but below the 89.7 million expected by analysts.
Airbnb said in the investor letter that travelers are returning to major cities, which historically have been one of the “strongest areas” of its business. The company said domestic and short-haul travel remained strong, but saw “still further improvements” in long-haul and cross-border travel during the quarter.
Airbnb said guest demand and supply growth remained strong throughout 2022.
Average daily rates fell 1% year over year to $153 in the fourth quarter. The company ended 2022 with 6.6 million active listings, an increase of over 900,000 or 16% compared to 2021.
Airbnb said it was “particularly encouraged” by market share gains in Latin America, the ongoing recovery in Asia-Pacific and European travelers booking their summer vacations early.
The company will hold its quarterly conference call with investors on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET.