Sands Capital Global Growth Fund Sold Airbnb (ABNB) as Top-line Growth Decelerated

Group 1: Sands Capital Global Growth Strategy Overview - Sands Capital released its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, highlighting a flexible approach to identify promising growth companies globally [1] - The Global Growth portfolio achieved a return of 21.7% in the quarter, outperforming the MSCI ACWI index, which returned 11.5% [1] - This quarter's performance marked the fourth best since the fund's inception in 2008, both in absolute and relative terms [1] Group 2: Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) Analysis - Airbnb's stock experienced a one-month return of -2.64% and a 52-week decline of 0.62%, with a market capitalization of $74.485 billion as of September 16, 2025 [2] - Sands Capital exited its position in Airbnb due to decelerating top-line growth, which fell from approximately 40% in 2022 to less than 10% in Q1 2025, and underwhelming new growth initiatives [3] - Despite recognizing the potential for profit upside through margin expansion, Airbnb was considered a minor position in the Global Growth portfolio, representing less than 100 basis points [3] Group 3: Market Position and Revenue - Airbnb reported revenue of $3.1 billion in Q2 2025, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 13% [4] - The company is not among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds, with 79 hedge fund portfolios holding its stock at the end of Q2 2025, up from 66 in the previous quarter [4] - There is a belief that certain AI stocks present greater upside potential and carry less downside risk compared to Airbnb [4]