Airbnb Stock Rallies on Strong Earnings. The Outlook for Travel Is Bright.

Airbnb (ticker: ABNB) shares in after hours trading have rallied 9%, to $131.66.

For the December quarter, Airbnb reported revenue of $1.9 billion, up 24% from the year-ago period, and ahead of both the company’s guidance range of $1.8 billion to $1.88 billion, and the Wall Street analyst consensus forecast of $1.86 billion. Profits were 48 cents a share, nearly twice the Street consensus at 25 cents.

Adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, was $506 million, up 52% from a year earlier. Free cash flow was $455 million, up 24%. Gross bookings were $13.5 billion, up 20%, or 26% adjusted for currency. Nights and experiences booked were 88.2 million, likewise up 20%.

For all of 2022, Airbnb posted revenue of $8.4 billion, up 40%, with net income of $1.9 billion, the company’s first full year of GAAP profitability.

“Looking forward to 2023, we’re seeing strong demand in Q1, indicating that consumer confidence to travel remains high,” the company said in a letter to shareholders. For the first quarter, Airbnb sees revenue of between $1.75 billion and $1.82 billion, up 16% to 21%, above the Street consensus view of $1.69 billion.

“We’re particularly encouraged by European guests booking their summer travel earlier this year, the market share gains we are seeing in Latin America, as well as the continued recovery within Asia Pacific,” the company said. Airbnb said it expects nights and experiences booked in the first quarter to be “nearly as strong” as the fourth-quarter level.

Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com