BKNG · Other

Booking Holdings Inc.

Ranked earnings events from SEC filings, earnings calls, press releases and news. Full Picture: what to focus on this earnings window

News · 2026-08-07

• Capital Return ProgramImportance 64 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings repurchased $3.7 billion of its common stock during the second quarter of 2026. The buybacks supported adjusted earnings-per-share growth alongside the earnings increase. Multiple reports described the…

News · 2026-08-06

• Headcount / RestructuringImportance 58 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings raised its expected annual run-rate savings from its Transformation Program to $650 million by the end of 2027. The savings target was increased as AI initiatives began reducing costs, particularly in…

News · 2026-08-05

• Net Income and ProfitabilityImportance 69 · Surprise 64
  Booking Holdings’ second-quarter 2026 net income rose 118% year over year to approximately $2 billion. Adjusted earnings were $2.54 per share, exceeding the $2.45 consensus estimate. The company reported an…
• Capital Return ProgramImportance 64 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings repurchased $3.7 billion of its common stock during the second quarter of 2026. The buybacks supported adjusted earnings-per-share growth alongside the earnings increase. Multiple reports described the…
• Revenue Performance and MixImportance 49 · Surprise 32
  Booking Holdings reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $7.35 billion, up 8.1% year over year and above consensus estimates by 2.26%. Gross bookings increased 9% year over year, while room nights rose 5%. Merchant…
• AI Adoption and Connected TripImportance 34 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings is using generative AI in customer service, travel discovery and other internal processes, with management citing early cost reductions and improved customer satisfaction. The company is advancing its…
• Market Demand TrendsImportance 31 · Surprise 32
  Booking Holdings reported resilient travel demand in the second quarter, with room nights booked increasing 5% year over year and gross bookings rising 9%. Demand was particularly strong for domestic travel, while…
• Operating Expense TrendsImportance 30 · Surprise 40
  Marketing expenses increased 11% year over year in the second quarter, outpacing the 8% revenue increase. The higher spending raised concerns about customer-acquisition costs and competitive pressure, particularly from…
• Competition and Pricing PressureImportance 30 · Surprise 40
  Booking Holdings faces competitive pressure from Google in travel search, with search-engine-optimization challenges and rising marketing expenses affecting customer acquisition. Marketing expenses increased 11% year…

10-Q · 2026-08-04

• Capital Return ProgramImportance 93 · Surprise 82
  Booking Holdings repurchased $7.8 billion of common stock during the first six months of 2026, compared with $3.7 billion in the prior-year period. The company had $14.5 billion remaining under its Board-authorized…
• Headcount / RestructuringImportance 83 · Surprise 82
  Booking Holdings continued its Transformation Program, launched in the fourth quarter of 2024, to improve operating expense efficiency and redirect resources toward traveler and partner offerings. The program generated…
• Income Tax Rate ChangesImportance 77 · Surprise 82
  The effective income-tax rate increased to 23.8% in the second quarter of 2026 from 18.9% in the second quarter of 2025. For the first six months, the effective tax rate rose to 23.4% from 18.1%, while income-tax…
• Operating Expense TrendsImportance 54 · Surprise 40
  Marketing expense increased 10.8% year over year to $2.371 billion in the second quarter and 13.4% to $4.439 billion for the first six months of 2026. Marketing expense was 32.2% of revenue in the quarter versus 31.5%…
• Liquidity and Debt PositionImportance 49 · Surprise 6
  Cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaled $17.7 billion at June 30, 2026, including approximately $14.7 billion held by international subsidiaries. Deferred merchant bookings were $10.1 billion, consisting…
• Operating Cash Flow TrendsImportance 49 · Surprise 32
  Net cash provided by operating activities increased to $6.934 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026 from $6.484 billion in the prior-year period. The 2026 operating cash flow included $3.0 billion of net…
• EU Digital RegulationImportance 44 · Surprise 60
  The European Commission has designated Booking Holdings as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act and Booking.com as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act. These designations subject the…
• Revenue Performance and MixImportance 43 · Surprise 32
  Second-quarter 2026 total revenue increased 8.1% year over year to $7.352 billion, while six-month revenue increased 11.5% to $12.884 billion. Second-quarter merchant revenue rose 15.0% to $5.127 billion and six-month…
• Interest Rate EnvironmentImportance 40 · Surprise 56
  Interest and dividend income decreased year-over-year in the second quarter and first six months of 2026 primarily because of lower interest rates. Interest expense also declined materially, by 28.2% in the quarter and…
• Middle East Conflict ImpactImportance 39 · Surprise 50
  The Middle East conflict slowed global room-night growth to 5% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026 from 6% in the first quarter. Although direct travel impacts within the region largely normalized during June,…
• Gross Margin DriversImportance 37 · Surprise 32
  Merchant gross bookings represented 73% of company-wide gross bookings in the second quarter of 2026, up from 69% in the second quarter of 2025 because Booking.com continued moving from agency to merchant bookings. The…
• Distribution ChannelsImportance 37 · Surprise 32
  Direct and mobile distribution remain important growth channels, with the significant majority of mobile-app room nights booked directly and direct room nights representing a mid-fifties percentage of total room…
• Digital Services Tax RegulationImportance 32 · Surprise 24
  Several jurisdictions, particularly in the European Union, have adopted or are considering digital services taxes on revenue from digital advertising or online platforms even without a local physical presence.…
• Market Demand TrendsImportance 31 · Surprise 32
  Global room nights increased 5% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 6% growth in the first quarter, driven by growth across key regions. Constant-currency global ADRs increased approximately 2%,…
• Products and TechnologyImportance 31 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings is developing an AI-powered Connected Trip experience across Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable. The strategy is intended to personalize travel planning, booking, payment, and in-trip…
• AI Adoption and Connected TripImportance 31 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings is executing a long-term strategy to create an AI-powered traveler experience through its Connected Trip vision. The initiative integrates personalized travel planning, booking, payment, and in-trip…
• Competition and Pricing PressureImportance 26 · Surprise 24
  Price remains a primary determinant of travel-booking decisions, and discounting and couponing are particularly prevalent in Asia. Competitors may accept little or no profit, or sell travel services at a loss, to gain…
• FX / Currency ImpactImportance 10 · Surprise 6
  Booking Holdings has substantial operations outside the United States and is principally exposed to movements in the Euro and British Pound Sterling against the U.S. dollar. Currency changes affect reported net assets,…

8-K · 2026-08-04

• Operating Income and MarginsImportance 62 · Surprise 46
  Second-quarter operating income increased to $2.500 billion from $2.250 billion, a 11% year-over-year increase. Net income increased 118% to $1.950 billion, lifting net income margin to 26.5% from 13.2%. Adjusted…
• Transformation Program SavingsImportance 62 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings increased expected annual run-rate savings from its Transformation Program to approximately $650 million. The company expects to realize the full run-rate savings by the end of 2027. Transformation…
• Liquidity and Debt PositionImportance 61 · Surprise 32
  Cash and cash equivalents were $17.214 billion at June 30, 2026, essentially unchanged from $17.203 billion at December 31, 2025. Short-term debt increased to $2.000 billion from $1.880 billion, while long-term debt…
• Income Tax Rate ChangesImportance 56 · Surprise 46
  Second-quarter income tax expense increased to $610 million from $209 million, while income before taxes increased to $2.560 billion from $1.104 billion. The reported second-quarter effective tax rate was approximately…
• Guidance / OutlookImportance 56 · Surprise 68
  Booking Holdings expects third-quarter 2026 room-night growth of 3% to 5%, gross-bookings growth of 4% to 6%, revenue growth of 4% to 6%, adjusted EBITDA growth of 4% to 6%, and adjusted EPS growth of 4% to 6%. For…
• Operating Expense TrendsImportance 52 · Surprise 30
  Total operating expenses increased 7% to $4.852 billion from $4.548 billion, below the 8% revenue increase. Marketing expense rose 11% to $2.371 billion from $2.139 billion, while marketing expense as a percentage of…
• Merchant Agency Booking MixImportance 48 · Surprise 40
  Merchant gross bookings increased 14.5% year over year to $37.0 billion in the second quarter, while agency gross bookings declined 3.3% to $14.0 billion. The merchant channel represented the stronger source of booking…
• Revenue Performance and MixImportance 47 · Surprise 22
  Second-quarter revenue increased 8% year over year to $7.352 billion, or approximately 7% on a constant-currency basis, while gross bookings increased 9% to $51.0 billion. Merchant revenue rose to $5.127 billion from…
• Operating Cash Flow TrendsImportance 47 · Surprise 22
  Second-quarter net cash provided by operating activities increased 16% to $3.719 billion from $3.201 billion. Second-quarter free cash flow increased 16% to $3.643 billion from $3.137 billion, representing 49.6% of…
• Capital Return ProgramImportance 43 · Surprise 6
  The board declared a third-quarter cash dividend of $0.42 per share, payable September 30, 2026, to shareholders of record on September 11, 2026. Booking Holdings repurchased $3.7 billion of stock, excluding excise…
• FX / Currency HeadwindsImportance 38 · Surprise 24
  Foreign currency exchange rates reduced reported second-quarter 2026 revenue growth by approximately 1 percentage point, with revenue increasing 8% reported versus approximately 7% on a constant-currency basis.…
• Middle East Conflict ImpactImportance 37 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings said geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty persisted in the second quarter of 2026, while underlying travel demand remained resilient. Its third-quarter guidance assumes indirect effects from the…
• Market Demand TrendsImportance 25 · Surprise 32
  Booking Holdings reported resilient travel demand in the second quarter, with room nights increasing 5% year over year to 325 million and gross bookings rising 9% to $51.0 billion, or approximately 8% on a…
• Distribution ChannelsImportance 10 · Surprise 6
  Booking Holdings’ direct channel accounted for a mid-fifties percentage of total room nights booked over the trailing four quarters. The mix was similar to the prior year, indicating that direct booking penetration was…

News · 2026-08-04

• Net Income and ProfitabilityImportance 69 · Surprise 64
  Booking Holdings’ second-quarter 2026 net income rose 118% year over year to approximately $2 billion. Adjusted earnings were $2.54 per share, exceeding the $2.45 consensus estimate. The company reported an…
• Capital Return ProgramImportance 64 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings repurchased $3.7 billion of its common stock during the second quarter of 2026. The buybacks supported adjusted earnings-per-share growth alongside the earnings increase. Multiple reports described the…
• Guidance / OutlookImportance 57 · Surprise 60
  Booking Holdings provided a positive outlook for the third quarter and full fiscal year 2026 after exceeding its second-quarter expectations. Management anticipates continued growth in key operating and financial…
• Revenue Performance and MixImportance 49 · Surprise 32
  Booking Holdings reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $7.35 billion, up 8.1% year over year and above consensus estimates by 2.26%. Gross bookings increased 9% year over year, while room nights rose 5%. Merchant…
• Middle East Conflict ImpactImportance 40 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance despite geopolitical uncertainty and described near-term volatility from the conflict in the Middle East. Management expects domestic travel demand to remain…
• AI Adoption and Connected TripImportance 34 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings is using generative AI in customer service, travel discovery and other internal processes, with management citing early cost reductions and improved customer satisfaction. The company is advancing its…
• Products and TechnologyImportance 31 · Surprise 42
  Booking Holdings is expanding its “Connected Trip” strategy, allowing travelers to book multiple travel categories—including accommodations, rentals, attractions and payments—for the same trip. The strategy is being…
• Operating Expense TrendsImportance 30 · Surprise 40
  Marketing expenses increased 11% year over year in the second quarter, outpacing the 8% revenue increase. The higher spending raised concerns about customer-acquisition costs and competitive pressure, particularly from…