Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BKNG, ETR:PCE1) reported strong financial results for the third quarter, posting both revenue and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) above expectations.
Adjusted EPS of $99.50 topped estimates of $99.25 per share.
Revenue of $$9 billion surpassed the consensus estimate of $8.7 billion and marked a 13% year-over-year increase.
Gross bookings for the quarter totaled $49.7 billion, up 14% from Q3 2024, while room nights increased 8%.
Operating income was reported at $3.483 billion, and adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 47.0%, a 120-basis-point increase from the prior year.
The company also recorded a $457 million impairment charge related to its KAYAK platform.
Further, Booking raised its annual savings target from its Transformation Program to a range of $500 million to $550 million, up from the previous guidance of $400 million to $450 million.
Analysts at Wedbush repeated their ‘Neutral’ rating on Booking following its earnings report, but boosted their price target to $6,000 from $5,900 previously.
Shares traded hands at about $5,110 on Wednesday morning.
“Booking continues to drive efficiencies through ongoing cost optimization initiatives, enabling reinvestment to support growth towards the company's longer-term targets,” the analysts wrote.
They noted that during Q3, the company saw robust demand across all major regions, with growth strongest in Asia and the rest-of-world segments. Room nights booked in Asia and rest-of-world markets grew in the low-double digits, consistent with the prior quarter.
In the US, growth accelerated to the high-single digits in Q3 from low-single digits in Q2, driven by stronger outbound travel and momentum in B2B.
Europe room nights booked growth increased to the high-single digits range from mid-single digits last quarter.
Booking also continued to gain share of the alternative lodging market, growing nights booked by 10% year-over-year, a 200-basis-point deceleration from the prior quarter, Wedbush pointed out.