Airbnb Revenue Rises 19% to $4.9 Billion as AI Handles 40% of Support Issues

Net income for the three months to September 30 was $1.89 billion, up from $1.37 billion a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share rose to $3.16 from $2.21, according to the shareholder letter Airbnb filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. Excluding currency effects, revenue grew 16%. Adjusted EBITDA was $2.51 billion, a 52% margin, and free cash flow was $1.43 billion.

The numbers matter because they show a large consumer platform beginning to cut operating costs with AI while still growing faster than its main rivals. Airbnb said customer support cost per booking fell more than 17% from a year earlier. The share of issues handled entirely by its AI support system rose from about a third in the second quarter, and the system now works in 50 languages, according to Skift. In the letter, the company called AI "the best thing to ever happen to Airbnb" and said it is building its own agent to help guests plan and book trips, with a rollout planned for the first half of 2027.

Nights and Seats Booked, Airbnb's main volume measure, rose 16% to 155.0 million, and gross booking value grew 21% to $27.7 billion. Over the same quarter Expedia reported revenue growth of 12%, while Booking Holdings' revenue fell 1% after a $1 billion accounting charge linked to a possible settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Skift reported. The two companies' room-night figures are not directly comparable with Airbnb's measure.

Airbnb's push beyond homes is part of the growth. Its hotel listings now cover 60 top destinations, up from 20 in May, and about 35% of guests whose first Airbnb booking is a hotel go on to book a home, Skift reported. The company credited product changes including search, pricing tools, flexible payments and its Reserve Now, Pay Later option.

For the fourth quarter, Airbnb forecast revenue of $3.22 billion to $3.28 billion, an increase of 16% to 18% that includes about two percentage points of help from exchange rates. It expects gross booking value to grow in the mid-teens. For the full year it now expects revenue growth in the high teens and an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 36%, which it said was higher than its previous outlook.

The company bought back $0.7 billion of its Class A shares in the quarter. Its board approved a new programme of up to $12 billion on November 3, on top of $2.7 billion left under the previous authorisation at the end of September, according to its quarterly report. Airbnb also disclosed a new five-year, $1.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility signed on October 30.

The results also shed light on chief executive Brian Chesky's separate AI venture. Airbnb has reached an agreement that could allow it to invest in the start-up, which Chesky controls, and license its technology, The Information reported, citing a securities filing and a person with knowledge of Chesky's plans. Chesky has so far funded the lab himself and plans to keep doing so, and Airbnb's chief technology officer, Ahmad Al-Dahle, who joined from Meta in January, has been advising it, the publication reported. Airbnb did not discuss the venture in its shareholder letter.