By Anshuman Tripathy
Feb 18 (Reuters) – Online travel agency Booking Holdings beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday amid resilient international travel demand, sending its shares up 2% in extended trading.
Demand for international travel is expected to grow, fueled by upcoming events such as the FIFA World Cup and an increase in higher-income travelers spending more on premium experiences, benefiting companies such as Booking.
The Norwalk, Connecticut-based company reported a quarterly adjusted profit of $48.80 per share, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $48.47 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
However, the company’s executives said on a post-earnings call that even though the booking window in the U.S. remained steady in the fourth quarter, “We continue to see slightly lower average daily rates and a slightly shorter length of stay versus the prior year, which may indicate that some consumer segments are continuing to be thoughtful on their discretionary spending.”
Average daily rate, or ADR, is a key industry metric representing the average revenue earned for an occupied room per day.
Value-conscious travelers in the United States have cut back amid a tougher economic backdrop, softening demand for budget and mid-scale hotel offerings, while higher-income travelers continue to spend on premium experiences.
The Kayak-parent expects adjusted earnings growth for the full-year 2026 to be in the mid-teens range. It expects gross bookings growth for the first quarter to be in the range of 14% to 16%.
Gross bookings for the fourth quarter came in at $43 billion, up 16% from the same period last year.
Total revenue for the quarter ended December 31 was $6.35 billion, compared to analysts’ estimates of $6.13 billion.
Booking Holdings also said on Wednesday that it had approved a 25-to-1 stock split of its authorized shares.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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