Airbnb (ABNB) earnings Q2 2022

Airbnb beat Wall Street estimates for earnings and posted revenue that met expectations for the second quarter. The company also announced a $2 billion share buyback program.

Airbnb, like Uber, benefited from an increase in consumer spending on activities as opposed to goods. Revenue jumped 58% year-over-year to $2.1 billion helping to drive the company’s most profitable second quarter to date.

Shares were down about 9% after hours, despite what appeared to be a strong report, suggesting Wall Street was looking for even greater growth and a revenue beat.

Here are the key numbers:

• Earnings per share: $0.56 vs. $0.43 expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $2.10 billion vs. $2.11 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Airbnb reported net income of $379 million, up from a loss of $68 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company said it tightened spending at the height of the pandemic, which helped make it leaner and more focused, and that it’s adapted its business as travel continues to change.

Airbnb anticipates record revenue during the third quarter despite headwinds from foreign exchange fluctuations, specifically the weakening euro versus the dollar. It guided third quarter revenue to land between $2.78 billion and $2.88 billion, ahead of StreetAccount’s $2.77 billion estimate. The company said it broke a single-day revenue record on July 4, which it says signals a strong summer season ahead.

For the second quarter, Airbnb reported more than 103 million nights and experiences booked. It’s the company’s largest quarterly number ever, but fell short StreetAccount estimates of 106.4 million nights and experiences booked. 

Gross booking value, which Airbnb uses to track host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees and taxes, totaled $17 billion in the second quarter, that’s up 27% year over year.

And while many companies are calling employees back to the office, long-term stays, where guests stay in a home for 28 days or more, remained Airbnb’s fastest-growing segment, with 25% growth over the year-ago quarter.

The company said gross 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% when compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, reaching $164. That’s up 7% from the same quarter a year ago, excluding the effects of currency fluctuations. The company anticipates ADR to be flat in the third quarter on a year-over-year basis.