Airbnb, Inc. Class A (ABNB.US) North American business lags behind! Q3 guidance exceeds expectations but stock price falls after hours.

Airbnb, Inc. Class A(ABNB.US) released a better-than-expected outlook for the third quarter, with strong performance in summer travel demand, but warned that growth may be difficult to maintain later in the year due to higher year-over-year comparisons. The financial report showed a 7.4% increase in booked nights and total seats in the second quarter, reaching 134.4 million. Revenue was $31 billion, higher than the expected $30.3 billion. Net profit was $642 million, higher than analysts' expectations of $599.3 million. The company stated that for the quarter ending September 30, key metrics - booked nights and experiences are expected to maintain a "relatively stable" growth rate compared to the 7.4% level in the second quarter, which is basically in line with Wall Street's expectation of a 7% increase. Revenue for the third quarter is expected to be between $40.2 billion and $41 billion, with the midpoint exceeding analysts' average expectations. Airbnb, Inc. Class A stated in a letter, "Looking ahead to the third quarter, the current demand trends are encouraging," and noted that the growth rate of booked nights in North America accelerated in July. However, the company expects to face more significant year-over-year base pressure at the end of this quarter through the fourth quarter, with "pressure on growth in the second half of the year." In the second half of last year, as travelers eventually postponed their travel plans, Airbnb, Inc. Class A had exceptionally strong performance. The stock fell 6.3% after hours. Airbnb, Inc. Class A also announced a new $6 billion stock buyback plan, exceeding expectations with its second-quarter free cash flow of $1 billion. Just before the financial report was released, Booking Holdings, a competitor, gave a tepid outlook, warning that increasing economic uncertainty would suppress travel demand. Airbnb, Inc. Class A stated that the second-quarter performance exceeded expectations mainly due to "robust growth in booked nights." Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region performed particularly well, achieving double-digit growth. After adjusting product marketing strategies based on local preferences in Brazil and Japan, the company saw a significant increase in first-time booking users. The increase in booked nights contributed by North American travelers only achieved single-digit growth (although demand improved), mainly from domestic travel. The company stated that this region accounts for about 30% of total bookings, and without it, quarterly booked nights could have achieved double-digit growth. Slowdown in Growth The company did not separately disclose the performance of the "experiences" and recently launched "SpotOn service" introduced in May, which allow travelers to book activities and hire professionals such as chefs, personal trainers, or photographers. However, the company stated that the awareness of these services is increasing, and early customer feedback is positive. In addition, the service has also "attracted the interest of many potential activity hosts," receiving over 60,000 applications since its launch. CEO Brian Chesky previously predicted that these new businesses would bring in over $1 billion in revenue annually in the future, but it will take several years of cultivation. The company reiterated its investment of $200 million in new businesses, consistent with the minimum range disclosed to investors in February, and expects these investments to put pressure on profit margins in the second half of the year. Loyalty Program Chief Business Officer Dave Stephenson mentioned in an interview last week that the new business puts the company in a "better position" to consider launching a loyalty program. Chesky emphasized during the financial report conference call that they will not mimic the points system of hotel industry competitors: "Membership programs are very attractive to Airbnb, Inc. Class A, and we do have a competitive disadvantage compared to OTAs and hotels, but if we do launch one, it will certainly be a non-traditional innovative model - not in the near future but will definitely happen in the future."