Online travel and related services provider Booking Holdings (BKNG:NSD) has reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of 2022, with strong demand contributing to its success. The company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $24.74 exceeded analysts’ expectations and increased by 56% year-over-year. Q4 revenues rose by 36% to $4 billion, also beating expectations. Gross travel bookings increased by 44% to $27.3 billion, and room nights booked grew by 39% from the prior-year quarter to 211 million.
Despite the impact of currency fluctuations, gross travel bookings were up by 58%, indicating a considerable impact of forex headwinds. For the full year of 2022, Booking reported record-high revenues of $17 billion, up 56% from the previous year, and adjusted EPS grew by 118% from the prior year to $99.83.
The booking remains optimistic about its performance in 2023 based on strong trends in the first quarter, with room nights up by 60% year over year in January. The company also expects 2023 revenue as a percentage of gross bookings to be around 50 basis points higher than in 2022.
Booking Holdings stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating on Stock Target Advisor, based on 24 analyst ratings. The average price target of $2,648.92 implies a 9.2% upside potential from current levels.
Shares of the company are up 19.4% in 2023 so far, and it is worth noting that Booking Holdings stock has a maximum Smart Score of “Perfect 10”. Shares with a “Perfect 10” Smart Score have historically outperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by a wide margin.
Company Profile:
Booking Holdings Inc. provides travel and restaurant online reservations and related services worldwide. The company operates Booking.com, which offers online accommodation reservations; Rentalcars.com which provides online rental car reservation services; Priceline, which offers online travel reservation services, and consumers hotel, flight, and rental car reservation services, as well as vacation packages, cruises, and hotel distribution services.
It also operates Agoda which provides online accommodation reservation services, as well as flight, ground transportation, and activities reservation services. In addition, the company operates KAYAK, an online price comparison service that allows consumers to search and compare travel itineraries and prices, comprising airline ticket, accommodation reservation, and rental car reservation information; and OpenTable for booking online restaurant reservations.
Further, it offers travel-related insurance products, and restaurant management services to consumers, travel service providers, and restaurants. The company was formerly known as The Priceline Group Inc. and changed its name to Booking Holdings Inc. in February 2018. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.
