Airbnb Reports Strong Earnings on Travel Demand Recovery..."Thanks to Easing of China's Lockdown Measures"

Strong Q1 Sales... "Will Exceed Expectations"
Overseas Accommodation Bookings in China Surge 40% Year-on-Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Global lodging platform Airbnb announced strong fourth-quarter results last year, causing its stock price to surge in after-hours trading. Airbnb stated that, buoyed by the lifting of China's COVID-19 lockdown measures, overseas accommodations by Chinese tourists have surged, and it expects better-than-anticipated performance in the first quarter as well.

According to CNBC on the 14th (local time), Airbnb announced its fourth-quarter results for last year. Revenue surged 24% year-over-year to $1.9 billion, surpassing the market expectation of $1.86 billion. Net income also rose nearly sixfold from last year's $55 million to $319 million, with earnings per share at 48 cents.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

EBITDA also reached a record high for the fourth quarter at $560 million, and total booking value was $13.5 billion, close to the expected $13.6 billion. This is attributed to the recovery in performance following the easing of COVID-19 lockdowns in China, Airbnb's largest business region. In the fourth quarter of last year, overseas accommodation bookings by Chinese tourists surged more than 40% year-over-year.

In a letter to shareholders, Airbnb emphasized, "With the easing of COVID-19 lockdowns in the China region and European tourists making overseas accommodation bookings faster than the previous year, strong performance is expected to continue into the first quarter of this year. During the pandemic, we made difficult decisions to reduce spending, but over the past two years, we have slightly increased our workforce and will continue hiring cautiously this year."

Fueled by strong results and expectations for future revenue growth, Airbnb's stock price also soared. The stock closed at $120.87, up 3.82% from the previous day during regular trading, and surged 11.89 dollars (9.84%) to $132.76 in after-hours trading compared to the regular session closing price.