Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Booking shares gapped down after the company missed quarterly EPS expectations, opening at $164.54 versus a prior close of $173.38 following the earnings release.
• Management cut full‑year revenue‑growth guidance from low‑double digits to high‑single digits due to the Middle East conflict, and Q2 revenue guidance of ~$7.1–7.2B trailed Street estimates (~$7.6B), creating a clear near‑term headwind.
• Offsetting factors include 16.2% YoY revenue growth to $5.53B, management's emphasis on AI initiatives and record share repurchases, and continued analyst support with an average price target near $227.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $173.38, but opened at $164.54. Booking shares last traded at $173.1610, with a volume of 3,272,605 shares trading hands.

The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $27.56 by ($26.42). The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS.

Booking Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Booking's payout ratio is 25.26%.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts reaffirm/raise — BTIG reiterated a Buy and set a $250 target, and UBS nudged its target to $260, providing upside and signaling continued analyst conviction. BTIG reaffirmation (Benzinga) UBS raises target (MarketScreener)
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI initiatives — KAYAK launched "Ask AI" and management highlighted generative-AI assistants that cut costs and boost bookings, supporting longer‑term margin tailwinds. KAYAK Ask AI launch (GlobeNewswire) AI assistants boost (PYMNTS)
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns — Management flagged record share repurchases on the call, which supports shareholder value even as top-line headwinds persist. Earnings highlights / buybacks (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results mixed but resilient — Gross bookings and revenue grew (~16% YoY to $5.5B); non‑GAAP EPS modestly topped some estimates, so fundamentals showed demand resilience despite regional disruption. Q1 results summary (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst model tweaks — Erste trimmed FY26 EPS slightly (to $10.65) but the consensus remains close; some firms maintained Buy ratings even while adjusting estimates. (Research notes)
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance cut — Management reduced its full‑year revenue-growth outlook from low‑double digits to high‑single digits, citing the Middle East conflict; Q2 revenue guidance of ~$7.1–7.2B trails Street expectations (~$7.6B), a clear near‑term headwind. Outlook cut (WSJ) Press release / slides (Booking)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades/target cuts — Robert W. Baird trimmed its price target to $215 (still Outperform); such downward revisions can cap the stock near term. Baird target cut (The Fly)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Booking from $259.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Booking from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the sale, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 60,876 shares of company stock valued at $10,559,629 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Booking by 7.7% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,132,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Booking by 59.6% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 229.6% during the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 339.0% during the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Booking by 6.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 72,604 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $392,009,000 after purchasing an additional 4,589 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $138.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.54.

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.

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