Airbnb falls sharply with signs the travel demand boom may have peaked
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Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) spun lower in Wednesday trading after weaker-than-anticipated guidance rattled investors. The online travel giant warned that comparisons for the current quarter are tough due to unfavorable year-over-year comparisons that lapped the post-pandemic boom in travel demand. 
Reactions from Wall Street analysts on the report were mixed. Evercore ISI Mark Mahaney called the Airbnb (ABNB) outlook and resulting share price reaction a bit of a course correction. He noted that fundamental trends have modestly softened - with 24% year-over-year ex-FX revenue growth marking a 7-point deceleration vs. Q4 and EBITDA margin of 14% a 100 basis points year-over-year decline. Evercore removed its near-term Tactical Underperform call following the decline.
Mizuho Securities analyst James Lee in his Airbnb (ABNB) breakdown said ADR growth remains sticky, but signs of price sensitivity is showing up. The firm kept a Neutral rating on ABNB due to what it sees as premium valuation over travel peers even after the dip. The recommendation to investors is to wait for a better entry point or new catalysts such as advertising that could drive take-rate and profitability upside.
Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said lower-than-expected forward room night growth speaks to how forward growth - which is more reliant on Europe, APAC, LATAM and new business opportunities - could face higher execution risk. A competitive risk seen for ABNB is share loss to Booking Holdings (BKNG). The firm has an Underweight rating and lowered its price target of $95.
On Seeking Alpha, Investing Group Leader Michael Wiggins De Oliveira stayed bullish on Airbnb (ABNB), noting the company is a free cash flow machine.
Shares of Airbnb (ABNB) fell 12.06% in early trading on Wednesday, although the stock is still up more than 30% for the year. Expedia (EXPE) was down 1.25% and Booking Holdings (BKNG) dipped 0.29%.
More on Airbnb:

Check out the earnings call transcript
Read the latest breakdowns on Airbnb from Seeking Alpha analysts
View the growth metrics
See the financial and valuation comparisons to sector peers
Dig into the Seeking Alpha Quant Rating