Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG - Free Report) reported non-GAAP earnings of $32 per share for fourth-quarter 2023, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.7%. The figure jumped 29% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenues of $4.78 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.66 billion. The top line improved 18% year over year on a reported basis and 17% on a constant-currency (cc) basis.
Solid travel demand and booking trends from the year-ago quarter were tailwinds.
Booking Holdings witnessed growth of 10.7% in rental cars on a year-over-year basis and 45.8% growth in the airline tickets unit in the reported quarter.
Booked room night numbers, amounting to 231 million in the fourth quarter, surged 9.2% from the prior-year quarter.
The company witnessed strong growth across its merchant and advertising and other businesses in the reported quarter.
Booking Holdings has gained 60.8% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s growth of 47.6%.
Top Line in Detail
Agency revenues were $2.07 billion (43.2% of the total revenues), up 0.9% year over year.
Merchant revenues were $2.47 billion (51.6% of the total revenues), up 38.7% on a year-over-year basis.
Advertising & Other revenues were $247 million (5.2% of the total revenues), which increased 12.3% from the year-ago quarter.
Bookings
The company’s overall gross bookings totaled $31.7 billion, which increased 16% on a reported basis and 15% on a cc basis from the year-ago quarter.
Total gross bookings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $30.89 billion.
Merchant bookings were $18.4 billion, up 38.7% from the prior-year quarter. The figure topped the consensus mark of $16.8 billion.
Agency bookings were $13.3 billion, down 5.3% from the prior-year quarter. The figure lagged the consensus mark of $14.07 billion.
Operating Results
Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $1.5 billion, which improved 18% year over year.
The adjusted EBITDA margin was 30.6%, which contracted 10 basis points (bps) from the prior-year quarter.
Per management, operating expenses were $4.2 billion, up 54.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Booking Holdings generated an operating income of $609 million, which decreased 54.7% year over year.
Balance Sheet
As of Dec 31, 2023, the company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $12.11 billion, down from $13.29 billion as of Sep 30, 2023. Short-term investments amounted to $576 million, down from $624 million at the end of the previous quarter.
Account receivables totaled $3.25 billion compared with $3.45 billion in the prior quarter.
At the end of the fourth quarter, Booking Holdings had $12.22 billion of long-term debt, up from $11.86 billion at the end of the third quarter.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Booking Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector are American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) , Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF - Free Report) and The Gap (GPS - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
American Eagle Outfitters shares have gained 8.6% year to date. AEO is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 7.
Abercrombie & Fitch shares have gained 37.4% year to date. ANF is set to report its fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 6.
The Gap shares have declined 8.7% year to date. GPS is set to announce fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 7.
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Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG - Free Report) reported non-GAAP earnings of $32 per share for fourth-quarter 2023, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.7%. The figure jumped 29% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenues of $4.78 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.66 billion. The top line improved 18% year over year on a reported basis and 17% on a constant-currency (cc) basis.
Solid travel demand and booking trends from the year-ago quarter were tailwinds.
Booking Holdings witnessed growth of 10.7% in rental cars on a year-over-year basis and 45.8% growth in the airline tickets unit in the reported quarter.
Booked room night numbers, amounting to 231 million in the fourth quarter, surged 9.2% from the prior-year quarter.
The company witnessed strong growth across its merchant and advertising and other businesses in the reported quarter.
Booking Holdings has gained 60.8% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s growth of 47.6%.
Top Line in Detail
Agency revenues were $2.07 billion (43.2% of the total revenues), up 0.9% year over year.
Merchant revenues were $2.47 billion (51.6% of the total revenues), up 38.7% on a year-over-year basis.
Advertising & Other revenues were $247 million (5.2% of the total revenues), which increased 12.3% from the year-ago quarter.
Bookings
The company’s overall gross bookings totaled $31.7 billion, which increased 16% on a reported basis and 15% on a cc basis from the year-ago quarter.
Total gross bookings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $30.89 billion.
Merchant bookings were $18.4 billion, up 38.7% from the prior-year quarter. The figure topped the consensus mark of $16.8 billion.
Agency bookings were $13.3 billion, down 5.3% from the prior-year quarter. The figure lagged the consensus mark of $14.07 billion.
Operating Results
Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $1.5 billion, which improved 18% year over year.
The adjusted EBITDA margin was 30.6%, which contracted 10 basis points (bps) from the prior-year quarter.
Per management, operating expenses were $4.2 billion, up 54.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Booking Holdings generated an operating income of $609 million, which decreased 54.7% year over year.
Balance Sheet
As of Dec 31, 2023, the company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $12.11 billion, down from $13.29 billion as of Sep 30, 2023. Short-term investments amounted to $576 million, down from $624 million at the end of the previous quarter.
Account receivables totaled $3.25 billion compared with $3.45 billion in the prior quarter.
At the end of the fourth quarter, Booking Holdings had $12.22 billion of long-term debt, up from $11.86 billion at the end of the third quarter.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Booking Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector are American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) , Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF - Free Report) and The Gap (GPS - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
American Eagle Outfitters shares have gained 8.6% year to date. AEO is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 7.
Abercrombie & Fitch shares have gained 37.4% year to date. ANF is set to report its fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 6.
The Gap shares have declined 8.7% year to date. GPS is set to announce fourth-quarter 2023 results on Mar 7.
Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2024
Hurry – you can still get in early on our 10 top tickers for 2024. Hand-picked by Zacks Director of Research, Sheraz Mian, this portfolio has been stunningly and consistently successful. From inception in 2012 through November, 2023, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +974.1%, nearly TRIPLING the S&P 500’s +340.1%. Sheraz has combed through 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and handpicked the best 10 to buy and hold in 2024. You can still be among the first to see these just-released stocks with enormous potential.
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