Booking Holdings BKNG reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of $41.55 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.58%. The figure increased 29.8% year over year.

BKNG’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 18.98%.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Revenues of $5.47 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.50% and increased 14.4% year over year on a reported basis and 15% on a constant currency (cc) basis. The growth was driven by high demand and increased travel bookings.

Booking Holdings Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Booking Holdings Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Booking Holdings Inc. Quote

In the fourth quarter of 2024, BKNG also benefited from its investments in AI-driven tools like AI Trip Planner and personalized recommendations, which enhanced the user experience and streamlined operations.

Booking Holdings appreciated 33.2% in the trailing six-month period, outperforming the Zacks Internet Commerce industry’s return of 28.2% and the broader Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector’s 9.8% gain.

Steady travel demand is expected to boost Room Night Growth, driving BKNG shares in the near term.

BKNG’s Top Line in Detail

Merchant revenues were $3.33 billion (61% of the total revenues), up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Agency revenues were $1.86 billion (34.1% of the total revenues), down 9.9% year over year.

Advertising & Other revenues were $271 million (5% of the total revenues), up 9.7% year over year.

Booking Holdings saw 12.1% growth in rental cars on a year-over-year basis and 52.3% growth in the airline tickets unit in the reported quarter.

Booked room night numbers were 261 million in the fourth quarter, up 13% year over year.

Booking Holdings’ Bookings Up Y/Y on Strong Merchant Growth

The company’s overall gross bookings totaled $37.2 billion, up 17.3% on a reported basis and 18% on a cc basis year over year. 

Total gross bookings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.34%.

Merchant bookings were $24.2 billion, up 31.7% year over year. The figure topped the consensus mark by 8.63%.

Agency bookings were $12.9 billion, down 2.7% year over year. However, the figure beat the consensus mark by 6.5%.

Operating Results

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $1.8 billion, up 26.2% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 33.8%, which expanded 320 basis points (bps) year over year.

GAAP operating expenses were $3.74 billion, down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses were 68.4%, a decrease from 87.3% in the previous year.

Adjusted Fixed Operating expenses increased 9% year over year to $1.25 billion.

BKNG’s Balance Sheet Remains Strong

As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $16.16 billion, up from $15.78 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024. 

Booking Holdings had $16.59 billion of total debt, up from $16.21 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024.

Free cash flow was $0.6 billion compared with $2.3 billion reported in the previous quarter.

BKNG Offers Strong Guidance

For the first quarter of 2025, Room Night Growth is expected to be between 5% and 7%. Gross Bookings growth is expected to be in the 5-7% range.

First-quarter growth in revenues is expected to be between 2% and 4%. 

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $800 million and $850 million.

Zacks Rank & Stocks To Consider

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

BWX Technologies BWXT, Salesforce CRM and Cogent Communications CCOI are some better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader sector. Each stock presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

BWX Technologies shares have lost 5.9% year to date. BWXT is set to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 24.

Salesforce shares have lost 4.8% year to date. CRM is set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Feb. 26.

Cogent Communications shares have gained 5.7% year to date. CCOI is set to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 27.

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