Airbnb defended by analysts amid concern on market share dynamics
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Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) attracted attention on Wednesday as analysts continue to parse its recent earnings results.

Shares of the San Francisco-based booking platform have fallen sharply since its Q1 earnings result, as weaker-than-anticipated guidance rattled investors. While the initial reaction to the print was negative, a bull/bear has continued in the week after the result.

A team of analysts at Bernstein told clients on Wednesday that the discrepancy between strong performance in room night growth at Booking Holdings (BKNG) in contrast to tepid growth at Airbnb (ABNB) has been a major question among clients. Strong forecasts from both Hilton (HLT) and Marriott (MAR) have added to questions, per the latest Berstein report.

However, the team voiced their belief Airbnbâs underperformance is tied to geographical differences in market share and seasonal differences in said markets, with Booking being skewed to Europe in contrast to Airbnbâs US dominance in vacation rentals.

âBooking is doing well in VR, but we don't see any underlying share gains from Airbnb,â the team said. âWe still see Airbnb as the long term leader in VR widening its gap from peers.â

The team outlined a similar dynamic for hotels, arguing that Airbnb is not in fact losing share to major hotel chains. Resilience in US travel demand and tapering off of European demand could reverse the guidance trend as the year progresses, according to the note.

Adding to upbeat outlooks on the name, Philip Capital hiked its rating on Airbnb to Buy from a prior Accumulate on Wednesday. The team advised that the recent selloff for Airbnb (ABNB) is unjustified and has offered an attractive entry point for investors. 

âWe believe Airbnb platform offers better non-urban location listings versus hotels, benefits travelers looking for long-term stays, and is more family and group travel-friendly,â the team commented, adding that supply and demand dynamics remain healthy for the platform as listings grew nearly 20% year over year.
Shares of Airbnb (ABNB) rose 2.37% in afternoon trading on Wednesday, rebounding from a post-earnings plunge.