Booking Holdings Shares Surge on Strong Earnings in Online Travel Sector

Shares of Booking Holdings (BKNG) surged following the company’s impressive third-quarter earnings report. The online travel agency, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced its results on a Tuesday evening.

Strong Earnings Report

Booking Holdings reported an adjusted earnings per share of $99.50 for the quarter ending in September. This figure represents a 19% increase compared to the previous year. The earnings surpassed analyst expectations, which estimated earnings of $95.85 per share according to FactSet.

Sales for the same period reached $9.01 billion, marking a 13% year-over-year growth. This figure also exceeded analyst predictions of $8.73 billion.

Booking Holdings Overview

Booking Holdings operates several well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, and OpenTable. It stands as the largest online travel agency in the world, facing competition from firms like Expedia Group and Airbnb.

• Total bookings value increased by 14% year-over-year, reaching $49.7 billion.
• Analysts had previously projected the bookings would total around $48 billion.

Future Projections

Looking ahead, Booking Holdings anticipates revenue growth of 10% to 12% for the fourth quarter. However, this midpoint is slightly below the 11.8% growth analysts expect for that period. The company expects bookings growth to be around 12%, which is higher than the 11.7% previously expected by analysts.

Market Performance

In after-hours trading, Booking Holdings’ stock climbed over 5%, reaching 5,381. However, during regular trading on Tuesday, the stock dropped by 2.5%. Year-to-date, the shares have gained 4.5%, which falls short of the S&P 500’s approximate 17% increase.

The stock has faced challenges due to concerns regarding U.S. travel demand and the potential impact of emerging technologies, such as chatbots, on the travel-booking market.

Stock Ratings

Before the Q3 report, Booking’s stock had an IBD Composite Rating of 77 out of a maximum of 99. This composite rating blends five distinct proprietary rankings, indicating that top growth stocks usually have a score of 90 or higher.