2023-05-10 11:17:56 ET
Airbnb ( NASDAQ: ABNB ) spun lower in Wednesday trading after weaker-than-anticipated guidance rattled investors. The online travel giant warned that comparisons for the current quarter are tough due to unfavorable year-over-year comparisons that lapped the post-pandemic boom in travel demand.
Reactions from Wall Street analysts on the report were mixed. Evercore ISI Mark Mahaney called the Airbnb ( ABNB ) outlook and resulting share price reaction a bit of a course correction. He noted that fundamental trends have modestly softened - with 24% year-over-year ex-FX revenue growth marking a 7-point deceleration vs. Q4 and EBITDA margin of 14% a 100 basis points year-over-year decline. Evercore removed its near-term Tactical Underperform call following the decline.
Mizuho Securities analyst James Lee in his Airbnb ( ABNB ) breakdown said ADR growth remains sticky, but signs of price sensitivity is showing up. The firm kept a Neutral rating on ABNB due to what it sees as premium valuation over travel peers even after the dip. The recommendation to investors is to wait for a better entry point or new catalysts such as advertising that could drive take-rate and profitability upside.
Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said lower-than-expected forward room night growth speaks to how forward growth - which is more reliant on Europe, APAC, LATAM and new business opportunities - could face higher execution risk. A competitive risk seen for ABNB is share loss to Booking Holdings ( BKNG ). The firm has an Underweight rating and lowered its price target of $95.
On Seeking Alpha, Investing Group Leader Michael Wiggins De Oliveira stayed bullish on Airbnb ( ABNB ), noting the company is a free cash flow machine.
Shares of Airbnb ( ABNB ) fell 12.06% in early trading on Wednesday, although the stock is still up more than 30% for the year. Expedia ( EXPE ) was down 1.25% and Booking Holdings ( BKNG ) dipped 0.29% .
More on Airbnb:
- Check out the earnings call transcript
- Read the latest breakdowns on Airbnb from Seeking Alpha analysts
- View the growth metrics
- See the financial and valuation comparisons to sector peers
- Dig into the Seeking Alpha Quant Rating
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Airbnb falls sharply with signs the travel demand boom may have peaked