Airbnb vs Microsoft: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Airbnb reported $12.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $2.5B of net income. Microsoft reported $331.8B of revenue in FY2026 and $133.7B 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.
Microsoft
Microsoft's FY2026 revenue rose 17.8% to $331.8 billion, operating income rose 21% to $155.2 billion, and GAAP net income rose 31% to $133.7 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue was $90.0 billion (up 18%) with net income of $35.8 billion, helped by a $3.2 billion gain on its Anthropic investment. Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion in Q4, up 27%. The main pressure point is capital intensity: AI data center spending has pushed free cash flow growth well below earnings growth.
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 |
Microsoft
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $331.8B | $133.7B | 40.3% | +17.8% | Source |
| FY2025 | $281.7B | $101.8B | 36.1% | +14.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $245.1B | $88.1B | 36.0% | +15.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $211.9B | $72.4B | 34.1% | +6.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $198.3B | $72.7B | 36.7% | +18.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $168.1B | $61.3B | 36.5% | +17.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $143B | $44.3B | 31.0% | +13.6% | Source |
| FY2019 | $125.8B | $39.2B | 31.2% | +14.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $110.4B | $16.6B | 15.0% | +14.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $96.6B | $25.5B | 26.4% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Airbnb
- Reservation service fees
Not formally reported
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.
Microsoft
- Productivity And Business ProcessesMajor
Office, Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Dynamics, and related cloud services.
- Intelligent CloudMajor
Azure, server products, enterprise services, and cloud infrastructure.
- More Personal ComputingMajor
Windows, devices, gaming, search, and advertising.
- AI Services And CopilotsGrowth
AI features and model-powered services embedded across Azure, Microsoft 365, GitHub, security, and developer tools.
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.
Microsoft
How it makes money
Microsoft reports three segments. Intelligent Cloud covers Azure, SQL Server, Windows Server, GitHub, Nuance, and enterprise services; server products and cloud services alone brought in $129.4 billion in FY2026, and Azure passed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time.
Growth strategy
Microsoft's growth plan centers on AI capacity and AI subscriptions. It is spending heavily on data centers and chips to meet Azure demand that management says remains capacity constrained, and it is selling Microsoft 365 Copilot as a paid add-on, which passed 30 million paid seats by the end of FY2026.
Competitive advantage
Microsoft's main advantage is distribution inside enterprises. Identity (Entra), email and documents (Microsoft 365), collaboration (Teams), developer tools (GitHub, Visual Studio), and cloud infrastructure (Azure) are often bought together, which raises switching costs and lets Microsoft attach new products such as Copilot to existing contracts.
Questions about Airbnb vs Microsoft
Which company has higher revenue — Airbnb, Inc. or Microsoft Corporation?
Airbnb, Inc. reported $12.2B (FY2025), while Microsoft Corporation reported $331.8B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Microsoft Corporation is the larger business, with Airbnb, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Airbnb, Inc. vs Microsoft Corporation?
Airbnb, Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $94.9B, while Microsoft Corporation's is $3.83T. Microsoft Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Airbnb, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Airbnb, Inc. or Microsoft Corporation?
Airbnb, Inc. generates $1.49M / employee in revenue per employee, while Microsoft Corporation generates $1.49M / 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 Microsoft Corporation make money?
Airbnb, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Airbnb, Inc.: Airbnb provides a marketplace on which hosts offer stays, experiences, and services and guests make reservations. Microsoft Corporation: Microsoft reports three segments.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Airbnb, Inc. or Microsoft Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Airbnb, Inc. trades at 7.8x P/S and Microsoft Corporation at 11.5x P/S. Microsoft Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Airbnb, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Airbnb, Inc. bigger than Microsoft Corporation?
By last reported revenue, Microsoft Corporation ($331.8B (FY2026)) 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 Microsoft overview