Airbnb says economic uncertainty is causing a softening of US travel demand

Takeaways

• Airbnb reported softer U.S.demand, which it attributed to economic uncertainty.
• The travel rental website expects that the average daily rate for the current quarter will be flat. It also expects that adjusted EBITDA Margin will be flat or slightly lower.
• The first-quarter profit was above expectations, as were sales.

Airbnb (ABNB), a vacation-rental site, has seen its shares drop slightly Friday. This comes a day after it warned that economic conditions are causing consumers not to spend as much on travel.

In a note to shareholders, the company explained that “in the U.S. there have been relatively softer results. We believe this is largely due to broader economic uncertainties.” Airbnb said it now expects the second-quarter average daily rates (ADR) to remain “approximately unchanged year-over-year” and that the adjusted EBITDA margin will be “flat to slightly down.”

In the first quarter of the year, the company reported earnings-per-share of $0.24. Revenues were up 6%, to $2.27 Billion. Both were slightly better than Visible Alpha’s forecasts.

Airbnb noted that the rise in revenue was primarily because of "solid growth in nights stayed." The number of nights and experiences booked increased by 8%, to 143.1 millions.

Airbnb shares will be down about 6% by 2025.