Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) stock surged in Friday’s premarket trading after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results Thursday and issued an upbeat revenue forecast.
Executives also highlighted artificial intelligence as a key growth driver. The technology is helping Airbnb launch products faster and lower customer support costs.
CEO Brian Chesky said Airbnb is using AI to improve operations while expanding its hotel business, pricing tools and flexible payment options.
Airbnb Beats Earnings Estimates
Airbnb reported third-quarter earnings of $3.16 per share, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $2.84.
Revenue rose to $4.87 billion, topping the $4.75 billion estimate.
Gross Booking Value increased 21% year over year to $27.7 billion. Nights and Seats Booked climbed 16% to 155 million.
The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $3.22 billion to $3.28 billion, above the $3.16 billion analyst estimate.
Airbnb also authorized an additional $12 billion in share repurchases.
AI Accelerates Product Launches, Cuts Costs
Chesky said AI is helping Airbnb roll out new features faster.
“In Q3 alone, we shipped more than 50 products and features, nearly 70% more than a year ago, because of AI,” he said.
Meanwhile, AI is reducing the need for human customer support.
About 40% of support issues were resolved without a human agent during the quarter, up from roughly one-third in the second quarter.
The company’s AI assistant now supports more than 50 languages.
Chesky said customer support costs per booking fell more than 17% year over year, largely due to AI improvements.
Separately, Airbnb disclosed a $7.1 million intellectual property transaction with an AI lab founded and controlled by Chesky.
Hotels Offer Another Growth Opportunity
Chesky said Airbnb’s hotel business is expanding significantly faster than its core operations.
He described hotels as a $900 billion market and said about 35% of first-time hotel guests book a home within a year.
Management also sees dynamic pricing as a way to lower guest prices while improving host earnings.
However, flexible payment options carry some risks.
Chief Financial Officer Ellie Mertz said cancellation rates increased 200 to 300 basis points from a year earlier.
She also expects the incremental benefit to nights booked from Reserve Now, Pay Later to moderate after peaking in the third quarter.
ABNB Price Action: Airbnb shares were up 14.32% at $194.50 during premarket trading on Friday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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