By
Godfrey Benjamin
October 4th, 2023
Airbnb stock has largely remained indifferent to the ongoing war but in terms of investor sentiment, the shares have taken a beating in relation to other tech stocks on Wall Street.
An American company that operates an online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals, and tourism activities, Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB) has seen its stock rebound in the pre-market by 4.87% as the firm unveiled a better than expected revenue growth in its first-quarter earnings report.
By the numbers, Airbnb reported revenue of $1.51 billion as against the $1.45 billion expected, according to Refinitiv. The company’s massive revenue boost stems from the gradual returns to travel post-pandemic. According to the San Francisco-based company, the revenue reported surged by 70% from the year-ago period, despite pandemic concerns, “macroeconomic headwinds” and the war in Ukraine.
Airbnb also reported a Loss Per Share of 3 cents against 29 cents per share according to Refinitiv analysts. The company has a good projection for the current quarter as it said it is expecting revenue to fall in between the $2.03 billion and $2.13 billion range, the low-end projection that will represent a 52% growth and above the $1.96 billion estimates from analysts.
Airbnb also reported 102.1 million nights and experiences booked for the quarter. This figure was better than its pre-pandemic figures and also above the 100.87 million projected according to StreetAccount. Gross Booking Value came in at $17.2 billion, up 67% year over year, and exceeding the $16.54 billion according to data from StreetAccount.
While Average Daily Rates (ADR) rose by 5% year over year to $168, the company said long-term stays remain its fastest-growing category. This category resulted in 21% of the total nights booked by customers in the first quarter.
“For millions of people, they don’t have to go back to an office five days a week and the vast majority of companies are not requiring employees to go back to an office,” CEO Brian Chesky said on a call with investors, adding that “what we’re going to continue to see in the coming years, we think, is continued growth” in long-term stays.”
Airbnb Stock amid the Humanitarian Aid Mission in Ukraine
Airbnb stock has largely remained indifferent to the ongoing war but in terms of investor sentiment, the shares have taken a beating in relation to other tech stocks on Wall Street. In general, the company unveiled some of its humanitarian efforts in Ukraine for the quarter.
As detailed by the firm, it provided as many as 100,000 temporary housing units for refugees fleeing the war-torn areas of the country. Up to the reporting time, Airbnb acknowledged it has provided as many as 14,000 temporary accommodations for those in need in Europe while it noted that more than 34,000 people signed up to offer their homes to refugees.
The humanitarian efforts of the company were also reflected in the waiver of host and guest fees as its users booked homes in Ukraine without any intentions of staying in them, another support gesture to Ukrainians in need. Overall, Airbnb said approximately 600,000 nights were booked in Ukraine in the quarter with a total GBV of about $20 million.