Airbnb beat its own expectations across revenue, bookings and profitability in the second quarter and lifted its full-year forecast, with chief executive Brian Chesky crediting an AI-driven acceleration in product development that he said has cut build times by as much as 60 percent while pushing feature output up nearly 80 percent in the first half versus a year earlier.
The numbers that matter
Revenue rose 17 percent year over year to $3.6 billion, topping the company’s prior outlook. Gross booking value climbed 16 percent to $27.2 billion on a 10 percent increase in nights and experiences booked. Net income came in at $816 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $1.3 billion, yielding a 35 percent adjusted EBITDA margin.
AI shows up in the cost structure
The company said an AI-powered customer service assistant now handles inquiries in more than 50 languages and resolves roughly 45 percent of cases without human intervention, contributing to a 16 percent decline in support cost per booking. Chesky framed the technology as a broad productivity lever rather than a single feature, arguing that faster shipping cycles are compounding across the platform.
Flexible payments and the hotel bet
The Reserve Now, Pay Later program accounted for more than 20 percent of gross booking value in the quarter, which the company said drove additional bookings, longer lead times and higher average daily rates. Hotels remain a small slice of total volume but are growing roughly three times faster than the core homes business, and Chesky said the strategy has exceeded his expectations while funneling new customers back into traditional listings.
Guidance moves
Full-year revenue growth is now expected to be at least in the mid-teens, and the adjusted EBITDA margin target has been raised to at least 35.5 percent from the previous 35 percent. The guide implies continued operating leverage even as the company layers on new services such as grocery delivery, airport pickup, luggage storage and car rentals alongside a near-doubling of Experiences inventory.