- Homes and rooms rental platform beats on top and bottom lines
- Travel demand continues to defy cost-of-living pressures
- Q1 2023 growth also expected to be ahead of previous estimates
It might not have any properties there yet but Airbnb’s (ABNB:NASDAQ) stock went to the moon in after-hours trading overnight following earnings that took the market by surprise.
The homes and rooms-rental platform reported fourth-quarter results that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines and issued altogether more confident guidance than expected as demand for travel continues to deny cost-of-living pressures.
Airbnb reported $0.48 per share of earnings on revenue of $1.9 billion for the three months to 31 December, far outstripping Wall Street estimates of $0.25 and $1.86 billion respectively.
Airbnb shares had rallied roughly 4% into the results, but surged nearly 10% in after-market trade to $132, a nine-month high.
DEMAND FOR TRAVEL REMAINS STRONG
The beat was driven by strength in bookings for nights and experiences, which rose 20% in Q4, compared to the same period last year, supporting a 20% jump in gross booking value to $13.5 billion.
‘Guest demand remained strong throughout 2022,’ Airbnb said. ‘All regions saw significant growth in 2022 as guests increasingly crossed borders and returned to cities on Airbnb,’ adding that 2022 was its ‘first profitable full year on a GAAP basis,’ or generally accepted accounting principles.
The company sees more firm growth ahead too, driven by European guests booking their summer travel earlier this year, market share gains in Latin America, and the continued recovery within Asia Pacific. Q1 2023 revenue was guided in a range of $1.75 billion to $1.82 billion, compared with Wall Street estimates for $1.68 billion.
Nights and experience booked year-on-year growth is expected to be ‘nearly as strong’ as Q4 2022, the company added.
