05:22 PM EDT, 05/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Corrects nights and experiences booked figures in third paragraph.)

Airbnb's ( ABNB ) first-quarter results surpassed Wall Street's estimates on the back of strong travel demand and the timing of Easter, while the vacation rental company late Wednesday offered a muted outlook for the second quarter.

Revenue increased 18% year-over-year to $2.14 billion during the three months ended March 31, above the Capital IQ-polled consensus for $2.06 billion. The company's per-share earnings advanced to $0.41 in the first quarter from $0.18 a year earlier. The GAAP consensus was for $0.23.

The annual revenue increase benefited from higher average daily rates and the timing of Easter, which was observed in the second quarter of 2023 but was on March 31 this year. Nights and experiences booked grew 9.5% to 132.6 million, exceeding the view on Visible Alpha indicating 131.9 million.

Gross booking value, which includes host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees and taxes, jumped 12% annually to $22.9 billion.

For the second quarter, Airbnb ( ABNB ) forecast revenue to grow between 8% and 10% year-over-year, reaching $2.68 billion to $2.74 billion, compared with the Capital IQ-polled consensus for $2.74 billion. The year-over-year comparison will likely face "a significant sequential headwind" primarily due to the timing of Easter, the inclusion of leap day in the March quarter and foreign exchange rates, the company said in a shareholder letter.

The stock was down 7.5% in after-hours trade.

The growth rate of nights booked in the ongoing three-month period is expected "to be relatively stable" sequentially, the company said. Airbnb ( ABNB ) forecast adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin to fall year-over-year in the second quarter partly due to the timing of Easter and higher marketing expenses.

"Looking ahead to the peak summer travel season, we are already experiencing robust demand for travel around international events such as the Olympics and Euro Cup," the company said in a statement.

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