ABNB Generates Strong Cash So Why Are You Not Considering It?

Here is why we think ABNB is worth a look

• Not many stocks offer free cash flow yield of 5.3%, but ABNB does
• 3-Year average revenue growth of 19.6% and operating margin of 19.9% show good fundamentals
• While tad expensive at PE of 32.4, the combo of cash yield, growth, and margin could still get noticed

That is one way to look at stocks. Trefis High Quality Portfolio evaluates much more, and is designed to reduce stock-specific risk while giving upside exposure

Proof That It Works

Here are some stocks that showed strong cash flow yield in mid 2024, and saw strong returns in the subsequent 12 months

• FFIV gained 70% in a year after showing a 6.9% free cash flow yield
• CSCO had 6.6% yield, and returned 50% in the next 12 months
• PM rose over 85% percent as the market noticed its 5.7% free cash flow yield and good underlying growth

But Consider Risk

That said, Airbnb isn’t immune to serious pullbacks. During the Covid pandemic, it dropped about 39%, and in the inflation shock, it plunged over 61%. Even with strong fundamentals, these dips show the stock can still take a hit when markets turn volatile. Quality matters, but significant sell-offs can still hurt, no matter how solid the company looks.

Picking winners on a consistent basis is not an easy task – especially given the volatility associated with a single stock. Instead, the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 4-year period. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.