Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) is an "increasingly attractive brand monetization story," according to RBC Capital Markets.
The Airbnb Analyst: Analyst Brad Erickson upgraded the rating from Sector Perform to Outperform, while raising the price target from $145 to $170.
The Airbnb Thesis: The company has strong first-party data, which may be valued at a premium in "the evolving consumer AI landscape," Erickson said in the upgrade note.
Check out other analyst stock ratings.
The analyst mentioned 4 key reasons for the upgrade in rating:
- While hotels represent an opportunity of more than $700 billion, they also offer a path to promoted listings, "where various marketplaces have driven multiple hundreds of bps of take rate uplift," he said.
- The company is making progress to rectify two of its important shortfalls – high upfront deposits and inflexible cancellation policies.
- Airbnb has a "great brand," which hedges it for competition from AI-based traffic acquisition and the agentic web.
- The World Cup and Milan Olympics could provide "a small tailwind."
ABNB Price Action: Airbnb shares were up 2.14% at $134.84 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Airbnb’s market cap of $83.78 billion positions it as a significant player in the consumer discretionary sector, particularly within the hotels and leisure industry.
The current P/E ratio of 31.43 suggests a premium valuation relative to historical averages, reflecting investor optimism about its growth potential, despite the stock trading closer to its 52-week high of $163.93.
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