Airbnb, Inc. Q4 FY2024 earnings call

• Product Improvements: Rolled out over 535 features/upgrades, including guest favorites, Toast network (100k listings in 4 months), enhanced search, flexible payments, and redesigned checkout with higher conversion rates.
• Tech Stack Rebuild: Rebuilt platform with new listing tools, upgraded messaging, enabling expansion into new offerings.
• Global Market Strategy: Targeting markets outside top 5 with higher growth rates; Brazil as a successful case, Japan starting brand marketing in Q4.
• New Business Investment: Planning to invest $200 to $250 million in 2025 for marketing and product development, with spend impacting marketing and product development lines.

In Q4 2024, Airbnb's revenue grew 12% year-over-year to $2.5 billion. Nights booked and GBV accelerated from Q3. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA totaled $4 billion, with a margin of 36%. In Q1 2025, the company expects revenue between $2.23 billion and $2.27 billion, representing 4% to 6% year-over-year growth (7% to 9% excluding FX headwinds). Nights and experiences booked growth in Q1 is expected to be relatively in line with Q1 2024 when excluding leap day impact. The top five core markets (US, UK, Canada, France, Australia) comprise about 70% of GBV, while targeted new markets are growing at double the rate of core markets.

• Q1 2025 Revenue: Expected $2.23B-$2.27B, 4%-6% y-o-y growth (7%-9% ex-FX).
• Profitability: Adjusted EBITDA and margin to decline vs Q1 2024 but flat ex-calendar and FX headwinds.
• 2025 Full-Year: Adjusted EBITDA margin at least 34.5%, investing $200-$250M in new businesses with impact most pronounced in first nine months of 2025.

• Regulatory Challenges: E.g., New York's ban on most Airbnb listings and its impact on market dynamics.
• Market Reception: Uncertainty in how new products and services will be received by guests and hosts.
• FX Headwinds: Impact on revenue growth as highlighted in Q1 guidance.

Q: About localization efforts and investment in new businesses A: Ellie Mertz discussed global market strategy, noting localization timelines vary by market (e.g., Brazil successful with brand marketing, Japan starting with lower awareness). Investments in new businesses will hit marketing and product development, with marketing for brand awareness and product for development pace increase.

Q: On AI and capital allocation A: Brian Chesky talked about AI in customer service and potential efficiency gains, while Ellie Mertz stated no meaningful change in capital allocation strategy, with focus on core operations, M&A, and returning capital to shareholders.

Q: About product innovation and tech stack A: Brian Chesky explained the long-term tech stack rebuild, with increased product velocity expected, more upgrades planned in 2025, and benefits for launching new offerings.

Q: On new products and margin guide A: Brian Chesky discussed near-adjacent product launch strategy similar to Amazon, and Ellie Mertz explained margin impact from new business investments weighted in Q1-Q3, with revenue lift in Q2 and beyond.