Aaaaand just like that, the storm is over. Despite WWIII starting, gas prices doubling, and a global market sell-off that had every survivalist influencer on Youtube gaining a record number of subscribers the past week, the worst might be over after yesterday’s impressive closing. 

(Source: Giphy) 

With all three major indexes closing up yesterday at +0.7% for the Dow, and +1.0% for both S&P 500 and Nasdaq, while Japan’s Nikkei index had it’s best day since 2008 (+10.8%) right after it’s worst day since 1987 (-12.4%), recession fears seemed to have evaporated overnight. 

Now of course, the tourniquet responsible for stopping the bleeding had nothing really to do with the US or Japan actually getting it’s sh&t together. In fact, it had more to do with the market pricing in a 50 basis point rate cut in September. Shocker… 

(Source: Giphy) 

What’s even more interesting, is that Wall Street’s fear gauge (VIX) also joined the party in recovery as it dropped from a sphincter-clenching 68 to a much more manageable 27.70. Translation? Future returns look so bright, we might need to wear shades. Maybe… 

So yeah, there’s that. However, while all investors this Wednesday are singing “I can see clearly now that the rain is gone”, Airbnb executives are feeling the exact opposite as their earnings numbers have shocked the market more than their consumers are when they find a hidden camera in their shower. 

(Source: CNBC)

In short, Airbnb plunged -16.6% after hours yesterday after giving all of us a quarter that can only be described as “bleh”. While the company managed to barely beat expectations on the top line, raking in $2.75 billion compared to the $2.74 billion that analysts expected - earnings per share proved to be the main culprit of the fallout as Airbnb reported .86 cents, falling short of the anticipated 92 cents. 

(Source: Investing.com)

The reason, according to the call, is that the company is seeing shorter booking lead times across the globe including a slowing demand from yours truly, U.S. guests. Which isn’t good at all, especially as Airbnb only reported a net income of $555 million for the previous quarter, down -15% from last year. 

So it’s clear that despite booking 125.1 million nights and experiences—its highest second-quarter result ever—the future looks a bit bleak. Now keep in mind, even though the U.S. market is slowing, Airbnb is pulling a Backstreet Boy debut as they are still seeing popular growth in Latin America and Asia Pacific. Which is still a win, but not really.

(Source: Giphy) 

Now with that said, what does this look like for the company going forward? Well it appears that Airbnb’s third-quarter outlook predicts revenue between $3.67 billion and $3.73 billion, which is (not surprising at all) below Wall Street’s forecast of $3.84 billion. 

(Source: Giphy)

It’s also worth noting that these earnings woes for Airbnb also follow the headaches they are experiencing from California’s new regulations inside the “Honest Pricing Law”. Which is an absolute buzzkill for businesses who like to hide their plethora of fees like my kid brother likes to hide his browser history. See: Ticketmaster and Spirit Airlines for worst fees imaginable

So given all of this, Airbnb is currently down -14.62% on the day (down -16.73% YTD)

Of course, even though some degenerates may take this as a cue to load up on dip buys, let’s be real here: While Airbnb is experiencing a nice silver lining internationally, it’s still facing immense challenges from U.S. consumers as the company is now removing over 200,000 of its low-quality listings. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Now, only time will tell if the pace will stretch onward to next quarter, but given the numbers we just received that took place during a record market rally, it may be more than just economic headwinds that are causing slow consumer demand. Like, I don’t know, getting peep-holed by a host that likes to play real life taxidermy. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Stocks.News doesn't hold any positions in companies mentioned in the article.