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Saying “people are ready to travel,” Airbnb Inc. on Thursday reported continued resilience in its business, posting higher first-quarter revenue and increased gross bookings than expected, but with a larger-than-expected $1.2 billion loss.
Airbnb
ABNB,
shares fell 2% after hours, after sinking 3.2% in the regular session to close at $135.75.
Gross bookings climbed higher to $10.3 billion, compared with $6.8 billion in the year-ago period, and $4.4 billion higher than the previous quarter. Analysts on average had expected $7.87 billion for the quarter.
“Areas of strength included North America, domestic travel, nearby stays, long-term stays, and stays in less densely populated areas,” the company said in its letter to shareholders. “We’ve also seen growth in family and group travel, especially outside
of cities.”
The lodging-booking platform’s revenue rose to $887 million from $842 million in the year-ago quarter, and increased $28 million from the previous quarter. That 5% increase in revenue contrasts with year-over-year sales drops for its competitors, like Expedia Group Inc.
EXPE,
and Booking Holdings Inc.
BKNG,
which reported their first-quarter results last week.
Airbnb reported a loss of $1.2 billion, or $1.95 a share, compared with a loss of $340.6 million, or $1.30 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted Ebitda loss was $58.6 million compared to $334 million in the same period last year. The company said its loss comprised one-time costs including a $377 million repayment of debt, loan costs and impairment related to office space it no longer needs.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of $1.05 a share on revenue of $717.8 million.
Citing persistent uncertainty because of the pandemic, Airbnb did not provide numbers for a second-quarter forecast, but said it expected the travel recovery to continue. The company said it expects nights and experiences booked to be higher year over year, but to be below the levels from the second quarter of 2019, while revenue should be “significantly higher” than that of the year-ago period and about even with the same period in 2019.
Analysts are forecasting a second-quarter loss of 65 cents a share on revenue of $989.9 million, and gross bookings of $9.29 billion.
Shares of Airbnb have fallen more than 9% year to date, and about 37% in the past three months, compared with the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
which is up nearly 10% so far this year and 3.6% in the past three months.
