For the December quarter, Airbnb reported earnings of 73 cents per share alongside sales of $2.48 billion, as detailed in a company press release. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted earnings of 58 cents per share and sales of $2.42 billion for the San Francisco-based firm.
The company experienced a year-over-year sales growth of 12%, an increase from 10% in the third quarter and 11% in the second quarter of 2024.
In its Q4 investor letter, Airbnb noted a significant rise in the number of first-time users booking through its platform. "Globally, we observed growth acceleration across all regions, with Asia Pacific and Latin America leading the charge," the company stated.
Gross bookings on Airbnb's platform increased by 13% to reach $17.6 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $17.2 billion, according to FactSet.
Additionally, Airbnb returned to profitability, recovering from a loss of 55 cents per share in Q4 2023, which had been impacted by substantial nonrecurring tax-related expenses.
Looking ahead to the current quarter, Airbnb anticipates sales of $2.25 billion, while analysts had projected $2.3 billion for the period ending in March.
Despite the lower-than-expected sales forecast, investors seem unfazed. In after-hours trading, Airbnb's stock rose over 13% to 160, following a slight increase during regular trading hours.
Airbnb Stock Down 7% From 12 Months Ago
Excluding Thursday's late trading activity, Airbnb's stock has declined by 7% over the past year and is down 6% since its last quarterly report in early November.
The company's sales growth has gradually decreased since the "revenge travel" trend that began in 2022 as pandemic restrictions eased.
Airbnb's stock currently holds an IBD Composite Rating of 65, on a scale where the highest possible score is 99, as reported by IBD Stock Checkup. This rating is derived from the combination of five distinct proprietary ratings. Top-performing growth stocks typically achieve a Composite Rating of 90 or higher.
Additionally, Airbnb has an IBD Relative Strength Rating of 63 out of 99. This RS Rating indicates that Airbnb has surpassed 63% of all stocks in IBD's database over the last year.