Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share.

Booking Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BKNG opened at $194.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $150.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $176.96 and a 200 day moving average of $176.82. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,375. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after acquiring an additional 128,700 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 732,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,920,535,000 after purchasing an additional 56,999 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Booking by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 247,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,733,000 after purchasing an additional 14,785 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 235,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,263,403,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 177,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $953,132,000 after purchasing an additional 33,450 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Revenue increased 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion, topping the $7.19 billion consensus estimate, while non-GAAP earnings of $2.54 per share beat estimates by roughly 4%. The company also surpassed the high end of its guidance across key operating metrics. Booking Beats Q2 Sales Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Travel demand remained healthy: Strong domestic and regional travel helped offset continued weakness in long-haul international travel and earlier concerns about Middle East-related demand. The performance suggests Booking continues to benefit from solid consumer demand for travel. Booking Reports Higher Revenue on Strong Travel Demand
• Positive Sentiment: AI strategy could reinforce Booking’s competitive position: Management’s focus is on owning the transaction—including inventory, pricing, cancellations, customer authentication, payments and supplier settlement—rather than merely allowing generative AI tools to recommend trips. That approach could help preserve Booking’s role and monetization opportunities as AI changes travel search. AI Can Plan the Trip but Booking Wants the Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s average recommendation remains equivalent to Buy, but the usefulness of highly optimistic analyst ratings is being questioned because such ratings may already reflect much of the favorable outlook. Wall Street Views on Booking
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of expectations: Booking projected revenue of approximately $9.4 billion to $9.5 billion, below the $9.7 billion analyst consensus. Continued pressure on long-haul international travel and geopolitical uncertainty remain risks to future growth.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.84.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.