Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.84 EPS

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $47.96 by $0.84, Zacks reports. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 127.57%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $41.55 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Booking’s conference call:

• Strong Q4 and FY?2025 results — Q4 room nights were 285M (+9%), Q4 gross bookings and revenue grew 16% YoY, Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $2.2B (+19%), and full?year adjusted EBITDA exceeded $9.9B (+20%).
• Transformation program is delivering — the company has enabled about $550M of annual run?rate savings (high end of prior guidance), realized ~$250M of in?year 2025 savings, and expects $500–$550M of in?year savings in 2026 to fund reinvestments.
• AI and Connected Trip are core growth drivers — agentic GenAI deployments across search, booking and support are already boosting engagement, conversion and efficiency (notably ~10% decline in customer service cost per booking), while flights (68M tickets, +37%) and attractions (+~80%) are expanding the multi?vertical connected trip mix.
• Strong cash generation and shareholder returns — year?end cash & investments of $17.8B, ~$9.1B free cash flow in 2025, $8.2B returned to shareholders in 2025, a 9.4% dividend increase to $10.50 per quarter and a board?approved 25?for?1 stock split.
• 2026 financial framework — targeting full?year constant?currency top?line growth ~100bps above its long?term 8% algorithm, adjusted EBITDA margins ~+50bps, and adjusted EPS growth in the mid?teens, with ~$700M of reinvestments expected to drive ~$400M incremental revenue and ~$300M net impact to adjusted EBITDA.

Booking Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $4.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $4,011.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 107,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,164. Booking has a one year low of $3,871.01 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5,032.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $5,193.24. The company has a market cap of $129.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21.

Booking shares are set to split on the morning of Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, April 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total value of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 702 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 953 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,181.34, for a total value of $4,937,817.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 19,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,631,984.10. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,108 shares of company stock worth $15,287,682 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 7.0% during the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its position in Booking by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its position in Booking by 2.0% during the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in Booking by 100.0% in the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 8 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Mizuho raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Booking from $6,500.00 to $5,000.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Booking from $5,800.00 to $5,600.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,926.18.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat on the top line with revenue of $6.35B (up ~16% y/y), room nights +9% and margin improvement — the operational beat underpins the company’s growth narrative. Q4 earnings highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Company announced a 25-for-1 stock split (effective early April), which should increase retail accessibility/liquidity and can support demand from smaller investors. MarketBeat: Booking split
• Positive Sentiment: Management is investing in generative AI to improve personalization and conversion — a potential medium-term productivity and margin tailwind if execution scales. Seeking Alpha: AI initiatives
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward guide: Booking provided Q1 revenue guidance roughly $5.4B–$5.5B (above some Street estimates), but EPS guidance was initially unclear — revenue tone is constructive but investors will want clarity on margin/EPS cadence. Zacks: guidance and metric detail
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain polarized: many firms still carry Buy/Outperform ratings and multi-thousand-dollar targets, but several large shops have cut targets — the consensus remains well above the current price, creating asymmetric expectations. Benzinga: analyst moves
• Negative Sentiment: AI disruption fears are driving selling: investors worry big?tech AI agents (and hotel chains pairing with AI firms) could disintermediate online travel agencies, pressuring future bookings and forcing higher marketing spend. That skepticism pressured the stock after the earnings release. Seeking Alpha: AI deals worry investors
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets (JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Benchmark, DA Davidson, Susquehanna among others), signaling more cautious near-term expectations and contributing to downward pressure. Benzinga: price target activity
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Glenn Fogel disclosed several share sales in February, which some investors interpret as a modest negative signal despite his remaining large holding. SEC Form 4

Booking Company Profile

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.