Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Worth Watching

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

Airbnb's Improving Profits
In the last three years Airbnb's earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Impressively, Airbnb's EPS catapulted from US$1.98 to US$3.60, over the last year. It's a rarity to see 82% year-on-year growth like that.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. The music to the ears of Airbnb shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 19% to 22% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth.

Are Airbnb Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
We would not expect to see insiders owning a large percentage of a US$80b company like Airbnb. But thanks to their investment in the company, it's pleasing to see that there are still incentives to align their actions with the shareholders. We note that their impressive stake in the company is worth US$23b. Coming in at 29% of the business, that holding gives insiders a lot of influence, and plenty of reason to generate value for shareholders. Looking very optimistic for investors.

While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Airbnb, with market caps over US$8.0b, is around US$12m.

The Airbnb CEO received total compensation of just US$311k in the year to December 2022. That looks like a modest pay packet, and may hint at a certain respect for the interests of shareholders. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Is Airbnb Worth Keeping An Eye On?
Airbnb's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. The cherry on top is that insiders own a bucket-load of shares, and the CEO pay seems really quite reasonable. The drastic earnings growth indicates the business is going from strength to strength. Hopefully a trend that continues well into the future. Big growth can make big winners, so the writing on the wall tells us that Airbnb is worth considering carefully. Now, you could try to make up your mind on Airbnb by focusing on just these factors, or you could also consider how its price-to-earnings ratio compares to other companies in its industry.