Airbnb’s Stock Rises 15% On Strong Financial Results

Airbnb’s (ABNB) stock is up 15% after the home rental company reported better-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter of last year.The San Francisco-based company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.73 U.S., which was well ahead of the $0.58 U.S. forecast on Wall Street. Revenue in the October through December quarter totaled $2.48 billion U.S., which topped the analyst consensus estimate of $2.43 billion U.S. Sales were up 12% from a year earlier.Management at Airbnb attributed the strong results to a continued recovery in the global travel industry coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Q4 2024, the company reported 111 million nights and experiences booked, up 12% from a year ago. Gross booking value, which Airbnb uses to report host earnings, totaled $17.60 billion U.S. in the quarter, above expectations of $17.20 billion U.S.In terms of forward guidance, Airbnb said it expects to report revenue of $2.23 billion U.S. to $2.27 billion U.S. in the current first quarter of 2025. Analysts expected $2.30 billion U.S. Airbnb continues to buyback its own stock, purchasing $838 million U.S. of shares in Q4 and $3.40 billion U.S. for all of last year.Prior to today (Feb. 14), Airbnb’s stock had declined 5% over the last 12 months to trade at $141.04 U.S. per share.