Booking Holdings Q4 Preview: Where From Here?

EXPE BKNG

It’s the most critical period for stocks – earnings season.

Many companies are scheduled to report in the coming weeks, including Booking Holdings (BKNG - Free Report) , on February 23rd, after the market close.

Booking Holdings is one of the largest online travel companies in the world. The company’s travel-related offerings cover hotel rooms, airline tickets, rental cars, vacation packages, cruises, “things to do” at customer destinations, and travel insurance.

How does the company currently stack up? We can use results from a peer, Expedia (EXPE - Free Report) , as a small gauge. Let’s take a closer look.

Expedia Q4

Expedia posted earnings per share of $1.26 in its latest release, falling short of the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate by more than 30%.

Quarterly revenue totaled $2.6 billion, again falling short of our $2.7 billion estimate by roughly 2% but growing 13% year-over-year. Below is a chart illustrating the company’s revenue on a quarterly basis.

Of course, the company’s Gross Bookings was an important part of the release, a metric that reflects travel demand.

For the quarter, gross booking totaled 20.5 million, falling short of our consensus estimate by nearly 3.5%. As we can see in the chart below, EXPE has primarily struggled to exceed expectations within this metric.

Peter Kern, CEO, on the quarter, “We were pleased that we were able to deliver our most profitable year in 2022, despite the friction from transforming our business model and technology platform. While our Q4 results were negatively impacted by severe weather, demand was otherwise strong and accelerating, and has been markedly stronger since the start of the year.”

Expedia shares lost roughly 8% in the following trading session.

Booking Holdings

Quarterly Estimates –

Analysts have taken a bullish stance for the quarter to be reported, with five positive earnings estimate revisions hitting the tape over the last several months. The Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate of $20.97 suggests a 33% Y/Y climb in earnings.

Our consensus revenue estimate sits at $3.9 billion, indicating an improvement of 29% from the year-ago quarter.

Quarterly Performance –

BKNG has consistently exceeded EPS estimates, beating expectations in eight consecutive quarters. Top line results have also been positive, with the company exceeding revenue estimates in seven of its last eight releases.

Just in its latest release, BKNG penciled in a 7.4% EPS beat and reported revenue 2.5% above expectations.

Valuation

BKNG shares presently trade at a 4.9X forward price-to-sales ratio, beneath the 6.1X five-year median by a fair margin.

In addition, the company’s forward earnings multiple currently sits at 19.9X, below the 22.6X five-year median and the Zacks Retail and Wholesale sector average.

BKNG carries a Style Score of “C” for Value.

Putting Everything Together

As earnings season continues to chug along, investors will remain busy sorting through quarterly prints.

And soon, we’ll hear from Booking Holdings.  

A peer, Expedia (EXPE - Free Report) , fell short of quarterly estimates, sending shares downward.

Analysts have remained bullish for BKNG’s quarter, with estimates suggesting Y/Y climbs in both earnings and revenue.

In addition, the company has primarily exceeded quarterly estimates, delivering strong results in its latest release.

Heading into the print, Booking Holdings (BKNG - Free Report) is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) with an Earnings ESP Score of -3.2%.

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