TripAdvisor TRIP reported a fourth-quarter 2024 non-GAAP earnings of 30 cents per share, which declined 21% from the prior-year quarter. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 42.86%.

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Revenues of $411 million increased 5% year over year. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $401 million.

The top line was impacted by a good improvement in sequential growth across all segments.

Quarterly Details of TRIP

Brand Tripadvisor: Revenues summed $204 million (accounting for 49.6% of the total revenues) for the segment, down 6% year over year. The figure beat the consensus mark of $196 million. Media and advertising revenues increased 3% year over year to $36 million. This growth was driven by creative offerings and programmatic advertising, which offset the decline in traditional display advertising, 

Revenues from experiences and dining were $35 million, decreasing 8% year over year.  Performance in experiences was driven by Brand Tripadvisor’s segment-specific marketing strategy and ROI targets. Revenues from branded hotels decreased 7% year over year to $125 million but was an improvement over the third quarter due to more favorable pricing in hotel meta. Other revenues within the segment were $8 million, which declined 20% year over year.

Viator: The segment’s revenues totaled $186 million (accounting for 45.3% of the total revenues). The figure increased 16% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $184 million.

TheFork: Revenues for the segment were $48 million (accounting for 11.7% of the total revenues), increasing 23% year over year. The figure beat the consensus mark of $47.56 million.

TRIP’s Operating Results

TripAdvisor’s cost of sales decreased 7% year over year to $27 million for the fourth quarter.

As a percentage of revenues, the figure remained flat year over year at 7%.

Marketing costs were up 22% from the year-ago quarter to $152 million. As a percentage of revenues, the figure expanded 500 bps year over year.

General and administrative costs were up 6% from the year-ago quarter to $19 million. As a percentage of revenues, the figure remained flat year over year at 5%.

Technology costs of $24 million increased 9% on a year-over-year basis. As a percentage of revenues, the figure remained unchanged year over year at 6%.

TRIP reported an operating margin of 0% in the fourth quarter, which contracted 790 bps year over year.

In the reported quarter, the total adjusted EBITDA margin was 18%, which contracted by 13% on a year-over-year basis.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow of TRIP

As of Dec. 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents were $1.11 billion, which remained flat since the last quarter.

The long-term debt was $831 million at the end of the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter’s $832 million.

TripAdvisor reported $2 million of negative cash from operations in the reported quarter against $44 million of cash generated in the prior quarter.

The negative free cash flow was $25 million in the fourth quarter.

Q1 2025 Guidance

TRIP expects its revenues for the first quarter of 2025 to either remain the same or decline in the low single digits. It accounts for negative impacts from currency fluctuations and holiday timing, which together reduce expected growth by about 2%.

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately in the range of 5-7%.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Currently, TRIP carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector are Sweetgreen SG, The TJX Companies TJX and Urban Outfitters URBN. While URBN sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, SG and TJX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Sweetgreen is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 26. The TJX Companies and Urban Outfitters are scheduled to report their respective fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Feb. 26.

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