What Happened?
Shares of online travel agency Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) jumped 19.7% in the afternoon session after the company reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter results and provided an upbeat forecast for the upcoming quarter.
The online travel agency posted adjusted earnings of $7.57 per share on revenue of $4.41 billion. Both figures comfortably surpassed analyst expectations, with earnings beating by 9% and revenue growing 8.7% year over year. A key driver of the strong performance was an 11.1% increase in room nights booked, indicating robust travel demand on its platforms. Looking ahead, the company issued fourth-quarter revenue guidance with a midpoint of $3.41 billion, which was more than 4% above Wall Street's consensus estimates, signaling management's confidence in continued momentum.
The shares closed the day at $258.17, up 17.4% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy Expedia? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Expedia’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. Moves this big are rare for Expedia and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 24 days ago when the stock gained 2.6% on the news that the company unveiled a new suite of artificial intelligence and machine learning-powered tools.
The new features included a trip planning tool called Smart Trip AI, which offered hotel and activity recommendations to customers in a conversational style. Additionally, a new advertising solution, the Lodging Sponsored Listings API, was introduced to allow business partners to show sponsored listings from Expedia on their own platforms. The company stated these tools were designed to help its partners improve speed, scale, and personalization. Supporting the positive sentiment, BTIG analyst Jake Fuller also reiterated a 'Buy' rating on the stock, signaling continued confidence in the company's performance.
Expedia is up 39.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $258.51 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Expedia’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,010.
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