Airbnb vs Expedia: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Airbnb reported $12.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $2.5B of net income. Expedia reported $14.7B of revenue in FY2025 and $1.3B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Airbnb
Airbnb revenue increased from $1.656 billion in 2016 to $12.241 billion in 2025. The company recorded losses from 2016 through 2021 and profits from 2022 through 2025. FY2025 gross booking value of $91.273 billion represented booking value processed on the platform and was not revenue.
Expedia
Revenue fell to $5.2 billion in 2020 during the pandemic, then recovered to $11.7 billion in 2022, $12.8 billion in 2023, $13.7 billion in 2024 and $14.7 billion in 2025. Net income reached $1.29 billion in 2025. Growth picked up in 2026: Q2 revenue rose 14% to $4.32 billion, gross bookings rose 12% to $33.9 billion, adjusted EBITDA rose 23% to $1.12 billion, and GAAP net income reached $878 million. Expedia also pays a quarterly dividend ($0.48 per share) and buys back stock, repurchasing $200 million of shares in Q2 2026. Its merchant model gives it negative working capital, because travelers pay before suppliers are paid, so cash flow peaks in the first half of the year.
Revenue and profit by year
Airbnb
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $12.2B | $2.5B | 20.5% | +10.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $11.1B | $2.6B | 23.9% | +11.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $9.9B | $4.8B | 48.3% | +18.1% | Source |
| FY2022 | $8.4B | $1.9B | 22.5% | +40.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $6B | -$352M | -5.9% | +77.4% | Source |
| FY2020 | $3.4B | -$4.6B | -135.7% | -29.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $4.8B | -$674.3M | -14.0% | +31.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $3.7B | -$16.9M | -0.5% | +42.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $2.6B | -$70M | -2.7% | +54.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $1.7B | -$147.3M | -8.9% | — | Source |
Expedia
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $14.7B | $1.3B | 8.8% | +7.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $13.7B | $1.2B | 9.0% | +6.6% | Source |
| FY2023 | $12.8B | $797M | 6.2% | +10.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $11.7B | $352M | 3.0% | +35.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $8.6B | $12M | 0.1% | +65.4% | Source |
| FY2020 | $5.2B | -$2.6B | -50.2% | -56.9% | Source |
| FY2019 | $12.1B | $565M | 4.7% | +7.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $11.2B | $406M | 3.6% | +11.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $10.1B | $378M | 3.8% | +14.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $8.8B | $282M | 3.2% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Airbnb
- Reservation service fees
Airbnb earns service fees from reservations for stays, experiences, and services. Revenue is recognized when the reservation occurs; gross booking value is not reported as revenue.
Expedia
- Lodging (hotels and vacation rentals)80
Merchant margins and agency commissions on hotel and Vrbo stays; about 80% of 2025 revenue.
- Advertising and media8
Trivago and Expedia Group Media Solutions ad revenue from hotels, destinations and travel brands.
- Car, cruise, activities and other9
Commissions and fees on rental cars, cruises, insurance and in-destination products.
- Air3
Booking fees and commissions on airline tickets.
Business model and strategy
Airbnb
How it makes money
Airbnb provides a marketplace on which hosts offer stays, experiences, and services and guests make reservations. The company recognizes service-fee revenue after a reservation occurs. Hosts provide the accommodations and other offerings, so gross booking value is the value of bookings on the platform, not Airbnb revenue.
Growth strategy
Airbnb's stated growth priorities are improving its core marketplace, expanding outside its largest markets, adding offerings beyond homes, and integrating AI into the app. The May 2025 release added services, rebuilt experiences, and an updated app; the May 2026 release added more trip services and boutique hotels in selected markets.
Competitive advantage
Airbnb's marketplace had more than 9 million active listings and 5.5 million hosts as of May 2026. Its scale, reviews, payments, host tools, and brand help connect supply and demand, while Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, and hotel companies remain significant competitors.
Expedia
How it makes money
Expedia makes money in three main ways. Under the merchant model it collects the traveler's payment, keeps a margin or fee, and pays the hotel or other supplier later. Under the agency model the traveler pays the supplier and Expedia earns a commission. It also sells advertising to hotels, destinations and travel brands, and runs trivago, its majority-owned hotel metasearch site.
Growth strategy
Under Ariane Gorin, Expedia is growing B2B distribution with new partners, adding hotel and rental supply, personalizing its consumer apps, building One Key membership for repeat bookings, and using AI both in trip planning and in internal engineering and service work. The single technology platform, finished under Peter Kern, lets each of these ship across all brands at once.
Competitive advantage
Expedia's edge is supply and distribution scale. Its marketplace aggregates millions of hotel and vacation-rental listings plus flights, cars and activities, and that same inventory is resold through thousands of B2B partners, which brings demand that does not depend on Google ads. All major brands now run on one technology platform, so product and AI features can ship once across Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.
Questions about Airbnb vs Expedia
Which company has higher revenue — Airbnb, Inc. or Expedia Group, Inc.?
Airbnb, Inc. reported $12.2B (FY2025), while Expedia Group, Inc. reported $14.7B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Expedia Group, Inc. is the larger business, with Airbnb, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Airbnb, Inc. vs Expedia Group, Inc.?
Airbnb, Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $94.9B, while Expedia Group, Inc.'s is $32.5B. Airbnb, Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Expedia Group, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Airbnb, Inc. or Expedia Group, Inc.?
Airbnb, Inc. generates $1.49M / employee in revenue per employee, while Expedia Group, Inc. generates $921k / employee. Airbnb, Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Airbnb, Inc. and Expedia Group, Inc. make money?
Airbnb, Inc. and Expedia Group, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Airbnb, Inc.: Airbnb provides a marketplace on which hosts offer stays, experiences, and services and guests make reservations. Expedia Group, Inc.: Expedia makes money in three main ways.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Airbnb, Inc. or Expedia Group, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Airbnb, Inc. trades at 7.8x P/S and Expedia Group, Inc. at 2.2x P/S. Airbnb, Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Expedia Group, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Airbnb, Inc. bigger than Expedia Group, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Expedia Group, Inc. ($14.7B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Airbnb, Inc. ($12.2B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Airbnb vs Expedia overview