Airbnb lifts annual revenue growth forecast on resilient global travel demand

By Anshuman Tripathy

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Airbnb raised its full-year 2026 revenue growth forecast on Thursday, as the vacation rental platform bets on resilient global leisure travel demand, sending its shares up 11% in extended trading.

Travel firms are banking on steady demand for international travel, buoyed by corporate travel and spending by affluent customers despite inflation and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

The San Francisco-based company now expects annual revenue growth in the "high teens," compared with its "at least mid-teens" forecast earlier.

The company also authorized a new repurchase program of up to an additional $12 billion of Airbnb's Class A common stock.

Globally, nights and seats booked, a metric that includes both room stays and service bookings, rose 16% to 155 million in the third quarter.

Quarterly bookings in North America grew by "low double digit" year over year, and in the "mid-teens" in EMEA.

Hotel operators such as Hilton and Marriott and online agencies like Expedia and Booking Holdings have been cautious about their fourth-quarter forecasts due to elevated airfares linked to the Iran war, as well as unrest in certain parts of Europe.

However, CFO Ellie Mertz said Airbnb does not expect a material impact in its current quarter from the unrest in Europe, specifically France, or the conflict in the Middle East, but is closely monitoring trends in both regions.

Airbnb also disclosed it sold certain intellectual property in November to a privately held AI lab founded by the company's CEO Brian Chesky for $7.1 million in cash.

The company is building its own AI agent to help guests plan and book trips and expects the rollout in the first half of 2027, it added.

Airbnb's customer support cost per booking fell by more than 17% for the quarter, as about 40% of all issues were resolved without a human agent, up from one-third in the second quarter.

The company reported diluted earnings per share of $3.16 for the quarter ended September 30, compared with $2.21 a year ago.

Third-quarter revenue rose about 19% to $4.87 billion. Analysts on average expected revenue of $4.75 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)