Airbnb Shares Tumbles 8% After Weak Forecasts

Airbnb shares ( ABNB ) fell more than 8% in extended trading on Wednesday after the company issued a weaker-than-expected current-quarter outlook, overshadowing its strong Q1 results that topped Wall Street expectations. The company said its current-quarter results face "a significant sequential headwind" from the timing of Easter, an added leap-year day in the prior quarter, and the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations. However, the rentals platform sees accelerating sequential revenue growth between the second and third quarters, driven by a summer travel backlog spearheaded by the Paris Olympics in July and August.

For the three months ending March 31, the company posted adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share, well above the 24-cents-a-share figure modeled by analysts. Revenue in the period of $2.14 billion grew 18% from the last year's first quarter and topped the $2.06 billion consensus view. Gross bookings registered $22.9 billion, up 12% year-over-year (YOY), while nights and experiences booked on the platform improved 9.5% from a year earlier to 132.6 million, edging past expectations of 132.1 million.

Airbnb ( ABNB ) noted that one-off events, such as the solar eclipse in North America, helped drive user engagement to the platform in the quarter, adding that 500,000 guests booked stays during the eclipse. Since topping out in late March, the Airbnb ( ABNB ) share price has consolidated within a narrow range around the 50-day moving average, indicating a lack of conviction from both buyers and sellers.

Airbnb ( ABNB ) shares fell 8.4% to $144.58 in after-hours trading. Through the close of trading Wednesday, the stock had gained about 25% over the past 12 months.

The Easter holiday occurring in the first quarter rather than the second and currency-exchange impacts were partly to blame for Airbnb ( ABNB ) projecting current-quarter revenue below lofty Wall Street estimates.

Technical Outlook
Airbnb ( ABNB ) shares is down 6.34% on Thursday's early Market Trading with a weak Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 34.38 indicating a slight oversold condition for the stock.