Airbnb Inc. said people are ready to travel Thursday and reported continued resilience in its business. It posted above-expected revenue and increased gross bookings in the first quarter, but with an above-expected loss of $ 1.2 billion.
Gross bookings increased to $ 10.3 billion from $ 6.8 billion in the same period last year and $ 4.4 billion more than the previous quarter. Analysts had expected an average of $ 7.87 billion for the quarter.
Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s chief executive, mentioned this the CDC announcement Thursday that fully vaccinated people will be able to resume normal activities for the most part, and said he expected the travel recovery “will be different from anything we’ve seen before”. He added that the company’s first quarter results are evidence of this.
In its letter to shareholders, the company said “strengths” include North America and domestic travel, as well as short and long term stays and stays in less populated areas. The company also saw growth in family and group travel, especially outside of the cities. Chesky said on the conference call he expects “significant tailwinds” when urban and cross-border trips that have not yet returned to normal return.
Revenue for the accommodation booking platform increased from $ 842 million in the year-ago quarter to $ 887 million in the first quarter, up $ 28 million from the previous quarter. This sales increase of 5% is in contrast to the sales declines of competitors compared to the previous year, such as Expedia Group Inc.
EXPE + 3.54%
and Booking Holdings Inc.
BKNG, + 1.61%,
who reported their first quarter results last week.
Airbnb shares initially fell about 2% after hours, but switched between positive and negative territory after the company’s earnings call. They fell 3.2% in the regular session and were trading at $ 135.75.
Airbnb posted a loss of $ 1.2 billion, or $ 1.95 per share, compared to a loss of $ 340.6 million, or $ 1.30 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted Ebitda loss was $ 58.6 million compared to $ 334 million for the same period last year. The company said its loss included one-time charges, including a debt repayment of $ 377 million, loan costs, and impairments related to office space that was no longer needed.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss share of $ 1.05 per share of sales of $ 717.8 million.
Citing continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic, Airbnb did not release second-quarter forecast figures, but expected the recovery in travel to continue. The company assumes that the number of booked nights and experiences will be higher from year to year, but will be below the level of the second quarter of 2019, while sales should be “significantly higher” than in the same period last year and even approximately with the Adjusted Ebitda will break even in the second quarter, said CFO Dave Stephenson on the conference call.
Stephenson adds that while the company is “very confident about the recovery … it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what Q3 and Q4 will do”.
Analysts forecast a loss of 65 cents per revenue share of $ 989.9 million and gross bookings of $ 9.29 billion for the second quarter.
Airbnb’s stocks are down more than 9% year-to-date and about 37% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500 index
SPX, + 1.22%,
That’s an increase of nearly 10% this year and 3.6% over the past three months.
As Airbnb prepares for the ongoing anticipated recovery in travel, May 24 unveils what Chesky calls “the most comprehensive update to Airbnb’s service in 12 years.”
