Airbnb Stock Tumbles Premarket Despite Q4 Beat: What's Spooking Investors?

Airbnb, Inc. ABNB shares took a tumble in premarket trading on Wednesday, despite exceeding expectations with its fourth-quarter earnings report released the previous day. 

While the company beat analyst estimates and offered positive guidance for the first quarter, some investors remain cautious.

Strong Q4: Airbnb reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter, exceeding analyst expectations. However, the company’s guidance for the first quarter of 2024, while above consensus, mentioned a “moderation” in the growth rate of nights booked compared to the previous quarter due to a high base from the previous year (19% growth).

Investor Concerns: This cautious tone, combined with the lack of specific details about the impact of Easter timing, seemed to spook some investors.

Future Fund‘s Gary Black believes the cautious language around first-quarter guidance might be causing the negative reaction. “In my experience, after the initial knee-jerk weakness, investors tend to look past the timing of holidays as unimportant if all other metrics are strong. I expect the same here,” he said.

CNBC‘s Jim Cramer expressed disappointment at the lack of discussion about artificial intelligence in the earnings call, pointing fingers at its chief executive. “Leave it to Brian Chesky to speak the truth about the lack of creativity devoted to generative a.i,” he said on X.

In premarket trading, the stock fell 4.55% to $144, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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