Airbnb Q3 2026: Bookings Surge 16%, Full-Year Outlook Raised

Airbnb's third quarter of 2026 was headlined by a sharp acceleration in booking volume. Nights and Seats Booked rose 16% year over year to 155.0 million, a meaningful step up from 10% growth in Q2 2026. Gross Booking Value jumped 21% to $27.70 billion, and that broad momentum prompted management to lift the full-year 2026 revenue growth outlook to the high teens.

Revenue came in at $4.87 billion, up 18.9% year over year and ahead of the $4.75 billion consensus estimate by 2.52%. On the bottom line, GAAP EPS of $3.16 cleared the $2.85 estimate by nearly 11%. Investors should note, however, that the EPS comparison benefited from a favorable tax item: the prior-year quarter included a $213 million valuation allowance against deferred tax assets for CAMT credits, a drag that did not repeat this period, resulting in a $135 million reduction in the income tax provision.

Looking at recent EPS history, Q3 2026 marks a clear high-water mark. Airbnb had missed the consensus estimate in both Q3 2025 (reporting $2.21 against an estimate of $2.32) and Q1 2026 (reporting $0.26 against an estimate of $0.30), making this quarter's 10.89% beat and the underlying volume acceleration particularly notable for investors tracking the trend.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, Airbnb guided revenue to a range of $3.22 billion to $3.28 billion, implying 16% to 18% year-over-year growth, including an approximate two-percentage-point foreign exchange tailwind after hedging. For the full year, the company now targets an Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 36%. The board also authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $12 billion in Class A common stock, with $0.7 billion already repurchased during Q3 2026.

The company's operational efficiency metrics were also moving in the right direction. Customer support cost per booking fell more than 17% year over year, with roughly 40% of support issues resolved without a human agent. Airbnb shipped more than 50 products and features in the quarter, nearly 70% more than a year ago, including neighborhood pages in Paris and an AI assistant expanding to voice support in the U.S., with a proprietary AI travel agent planned for guests in the first half of 2027.