Airbnb Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates as Booking Demand Accelerates

ABNB Booking Trends Gain Momentum

Gross Booking Value increased 16% year over year to $27.2 billion and 15% excluding foreign-exchange effects. ADR reached $184, increasing 5% from the prior-year quarter and 4% on an ex-FX basis.

Mobile adoption remained a notable growth driver. Nights booked through Airbnb’s app increased 23% year over year and represented 64% of total nights booked, up from 59%. Growth among first-time bookers accelerated to 11%, the highest rate in four years.

Airbnb Sees Broad-Based Regional Strength

North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) recorded high-single-digit growth in Nights and Seats Booked. EMEA improved from the first quarter as demand recovered from the Middle East-related headwinds. Latin America bookings increased approximately 20%, while Asia Pacific posted high-teens growth.

Expansion markets continued to outpace Airbnb's core markets, with average origin net nights growth over the trailing 12 months running at roughly twice the core-market rate. Brazil's origin net nights increased more than 30% in the quarter, while India posted 60% growth.

ABNB Improves Profitability Despite Marketing Spend

Total costs and expenses were $2.85 billion, up from $2.48 billion a year earlier. However, costs represented about 79.0% of revenues compared with 80.2% in the year-ago quarter. Product development declined approximately 110 bps, while sales and marketing expenses increased about 190 bps. Operations and support and general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of revenues, decreased approximately 70 bps and 140 bps, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDA was $1.26 billion, up 21% year over year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 35%.

The second quarter of 2026 operating margin expanded approximately 120 bps year over year to 21%.

Airbnb's AI Push Drives Operating Efficiency

Airbnb highlighted that artificial intelligence (AI) is allowing it to develop and iterate products faster. On key initiatives, the company reduced the time from concept to delivery by as much as 60%, while the number of features and improvements shipped in the first half increased nearly 80% from the comparable 2025 period.

AI is also benefiting customer support. Nearly 45% of issues beginning with Airbnb's AI assistant are resolved without a human agent. Customer support-related cost per booking declined approximately 16% year over year. Meanwhile, hotel nights booked grew about three times as fast as the homes business, although hotels remained a single-digit percentage of nights booked.

ABNB Maintains Strong Cash Generation

Airbnb ended June 30, 2026, with $12.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash. 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $1.27 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up from $1.71 billion reported in the first quarter of 2026.

Free cash flow increased 30% year over year to $1.25 billion, translating into a 35% margin. Trailing-12-month free cash flow reached $4.83 billion, representing a 37% margin. Reserve Now, Pay Later continued to affect quarterly working capital by shifting guest payments closer to the stay date.

The company repurchased $1.1 billion of Class A common stock during the quarter and had $3.4 billion remaining under its repurchase authorization.

Airbnb Raises Its 2026 Outlook

For the third quarter of 2026, Airbnb expects revenues between $4.69 billion and $4.77 billion, implying growth of 15-17%. Management projects mid-teens GBV growth, supported by low-double-digit growth in Nights and Seats Booked and a moderate ADR increase.

For 2026, Airbnb raised its revenue growth outlook to at least the mid-teens from its previous low-to-mid-teens forecast. The company also increased its adjusted EBITDA margin expectation to 35.5% from 35%, reflecting stronger top-line growth and operating leverage while maintaining growth investments.

ABNB’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Airbnb currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector include Applied Materials AMAT, Inuvo INUV and Analog Devices ADI. Each stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Applied Materials shares have gained 105.3% in the year-to-date period. Applied Materials is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 13.

Shares of Inuvo have plunged 58.9% in the year-to-date period. Inuvo is set to report the second quarter of 2026 results on Aug. 11.

Shares of Analog Devices have rallied 39.1% year to date. Analog Devices is slated to report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 19.

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