ABNB Q4 2021 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Airbnb, Inc. Q4 2021 Earnings Call
• Date: February 15, 2022 at 10:30 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Brian Chesky (Co-founder and CEO)
  • Dave Stephenson (Chief Financial Officer)
  • Ellie Mertz (Vice President of Finance)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Revenue in Q4 was $1.5B, which exceeded 2019 by 38%.
• Net income in Q4 was $55M, which was the company's best Q4 and compared to a loss in 2019.
• Adjusted EBITDA in Q4 was $333M, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 22% compared to negative 25% in Q4 2019.
• Gross Booking Value (GBV) in Q4 was $11B, which surpassed 2019 levels by 32%.
• Gross nights and experiences booked in Q4 were down 3% versus Q4 2019 on a global basis and were up 8% versus Q4 2019 when excluding APAC.
• Nearly half of Q4 nights booked were for stays of a week or longer, and one in five nights were for stays of a month or longer.
• Nearly 175,000 guests stayed for three months or longer in the past year.
• Bookings in January for the summer season by nights booked were up 25% from the same time in 2019.

Guidance

• Q1 2022 guidance includes an expected ADR increase of about 4% versus Q1 2021, according to the commentary on the call.
• Company expects ADR moderation through the back half of 2022 as urban and lower-ADR regions continue to recover.
• The 2022 EBITDA outlook reflects a baseline marketing investment level and potential offsets from ADR normalization, implying limited margin improvement versus 2021.
• Marketing spend is expected to remain at the elevated baseline achieved in 2021 and is unlikely to materially improve as a percentage of revenue in 2022.
• The company stated it is managing for profitability while continuing to invest for growth, which informs the guidance posture for margins and expenses.
• No explicit revenue or full-year EBITDA numerical reforecast was provided on the call beyond contextual commentary in the shareholder letter.