The company everyone wrote off: Airbnb reports a net profit of 816 million

If you had asked Wall Street experts before the reports were published, most of them would have estimated that Airbnb would miss forecasts for the fourth consecutive time. However, the rental giant had completely different plans: the company presented an exceptionally strong second quarter, crushed all preliminary estimates, and sent its stock into a wild jump of about 11% in after-hours trading, straight to the level of 168 dollars.

The second-quarter numbers speak for themselves and show a sharp increase in all parameters. The company's revenue reached 3.6 billion dollars (a growth of 17%), earnings per share stood at 1.37 dollars, and net profit jumped by 27% and reached 816 million dollars. These are figures that were much higher than anything analysts in the market had predicted.

Behind the impressive results is a massive return of the public to vacations and travel around the world. During the quarter, 148.3 million nights were booked for a total amount of 27.2 billion dollars, with the average price per night climbing to 184 dollars. Demand expanded worldwide, including a recovery in the Middle East and Europe, a 60% jump in India, and a threefold increase in bookings for boutique hotels.

Beyond the growth in bookings, the company managed to streamline its work intelligently with the help of innovative technology. Integrating artificial intelligence tools into customer service automatically resolved 45% of all user inquiries, which allowed the company to save significant amounts of money on operating expenses and increase the bottom line.

Following the successful quarter, the company's management raised its annual forecast to at least 15% growth in revenue and expects revenue of up to 4.77 billion dollars in the third quarter. With a rich cash reserve of 12.1 billion dollars, strong free cash flow, and steps to consolidate host fees, the tourism giant reaches the peak of the summer season in an exceptionally solid position.