Airbnb Reports Mixed Earnings, Revenue Forecast Disappoints Investors

San Francisco, California — Airbnb reported its first quarter earnings on May 8, revealing a 6% increase in revenue from $2.1 billion a year ago. However, the company’s disappointing revenue forecast for the second quarter led to a decline in shares, which fell approximately 3% in after-hours trading.

During the earnings call, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky noted that net income decreased to $154 million, or 24 cents per share, down from $264 million, or 41 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. For the upcoming quarter, Airbnb anticipates revenue between $2.99 billion and $3.05 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion.

Chesky cited softer results in the U.S. due to economic uncertainty affecting travel patterns, especially from Canada to the U.S. Despite this, North America saw strong year-over-year growth. The company expects the revenue for the current period to include a 2% boost due to Easter timing.

Gross booking value, which includes host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees, and taxes, rose by 7% year-over-year to $24.5 billion. During the first quarter, nights and experiences booked surged to 143.1 million, a slight miss compared to the 143.4 million forecasted by analysts.

Outside North America, the number of nights and experiences booked grew 11% from the previous year. Notably, nights booked by Canadian visitors to Mexico rose by 27% in March. Chesky remarked on the strong demand for Easter travel from Latin America, indicating it remains the fastest-growing region for the company.

Apart from financial updates, Airbnb teased new features for its app aimed at enhancing user experience. This follows the removal of 450,000 listings in 2023 due to updates to its host quality system. Airbnb executives will further discuss the earnings outcome in a call with analysts later today.