Technology

Airbnb reports continued deceleration in nights and experiences booked

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Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky appears at “The Game Plan: Strategies for Entrepreneurs” at Airbnb Open in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2016.
Kurt Krieger – Corbis | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Airbnb shares slid as much as 6% in extended trading on Thursday after the short-term home-rental company reported a smaller sum of nights and experience booked in the second quarter than analysts had projected.

Here’s how the company did:

  • Earnings: 98 cents per share.
  • Revenue: $2.48 billion.

It was not immediately clear whether these numbers are comparable with analysts’ estimates.

Airbnb’s revenue grew 18% year over year in the quarter, according to a statement. Net income reached $650 million, compared with about $379 million, or 56 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The company reported $19.1 billion in gross booking value for the quarter. That was up 12% from the second quarter of last year and above the $18.99 billion consensus among analysts surveyed by StreetAccount.

Airbnb said it had 115.1 million nights and experiences booked during the quarter, up almost 11%, but less than the 117.6 million StreetAccount consensus. Nights and experienced booked increased 19% in the first quarter.

In a letter to shareholders, Airbnb said the nights and experiences booked number was up against a tough comparison.

“We saw an improvement in year-over-year Nights and Experiences Booked growth during the quarter from 10% in April to 15% in June,” the company said. “In particular, we were encouraged by the acceleration in year-over-year nights in North America throughout the quarter, and the recovery in EMEA in June following challenging holiday comparisons in May.”

Gross booking value per night, at $166.01, was up 1% year over year.

With respect to guidance, Airbnb called for $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion in third-quarter revenue, or 14% to 18% growth. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had been looking for $3.22 billion. Management called for a “modest” sequential acceleration in nights and experiences booked.

During the quarter Airbnb introduced Rooms in an effort to play up the appeal of affordable private bedrooms to rent out, at $67 per night on average.

Notwithstanding the after-hours move, Airbnb shares have risen about 64% so far this year, outperforming the S&P 500 stock index, which is up 17% over the same period.

Executives will discus the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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