Investors give Airbnb lukewarm reaction despite rental giant posting largest booking numbers ever
Airbnb posted weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter as the rental firm struggles to please investors.
While the US firm reported its largest quarterly numbers ever, with 103 million booking nights and experiences during the period, it fell below StreetAccount estimates of 106.4 million.
This sent shares plunging 10 per cent in after-market trading, and casting a shadow on relatively upbeat tech results.
North America remained strong with Nights and Experiences Booked in Q2 increasing 37 per cent above the level achieved in the same quarter of 2019, primarily driven by the U.S.
In EMEA, Nights and Experiences Booked were once again above pre-pandemic Q2 2019 levels. Despite the continued war in Ukraine, Nights and Experiences Booked experienced sequential growth, up by 11 per cent compared to Q1 2022 and 26 per cent compared to Q2 2019.
Revenue met revenue expectations at $2.1bn for the period, growing 58 per cent year-over-year.
From a profitability perspective, the US firm also said it had enjoyed its most profitable Q2 ever with net income of $379m—a nearly $700m improvement from Q2 2019.
Looking ahead, the company said in its shareholder letter that it expects a “strong summer season ahead”, achieving its highest single revenue day on 4 July.
“Seasonality in the first half of 2021 was abnormal due to the beginning of the travel rebound. We saw trends begin to normalize in the second half of 2021. As a result, we believe comparisons to 2019 are still relevant for Q2 2022, but we see Q3 2022 as an inflection point whereby year-over-year comparisons will regain relevance,” Airbnb said.
It added that it expected growth in third quarter to be “stable”.
Shares continued to fall nearly five per cent this afternoon for the tech company.