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Booking Holdings (BKNG) Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat, Rise Y/Y

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Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG - Free Report) reported non-GAAP earnings of $41.90 per share for second-quarter 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.4%. The figure rose 11% from the year-ago quarter.

Revenues of $5.86 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.78 billion. The top line improved 7% year over year on a reported basis and 9% on a constant-currency (cc) basis.

The company witnessed strong growth in its merchant business, which drove its top-line growth in the reported quarter.

Booking Holdings witnessed growth of 10% in rental cars on a year-over-year basis and 27.7% growth in the airline tickets unit in the reported quarter.

Booked room night numbers, amounting to 287 million in the second quarter, rose 7.1% from the prior-year quarter.

However, weakness in the agency business model was a major concern.

Booking Holdings has gained 3.8% year to date, underperforming the industry’s growth of 15.1%.

Booking Holdings Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Booking Holdings Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Booking Holdings Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Booking Holdings Inc. Quote

Top Line in Detail

Agency revenues were $2.14 billion (36.6% of the total revenues), down 11.7% year over year.

Merchant revenues were $3.45 billion (58.8% of the total revenues), up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Advertising & Other revenues were $269 million (4.6% of the total revenues), which increased 2.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Bookings

The company’s overall gross bookings totaled $41.4 billion, which rose 4.4% on a reported basis and 6% on a cc basis from the year-ago quarter.

Total gross bookings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $41.7 billion.

Merchant bookings were $25.8 billion, up 22.3% from the prior-year quarter. The figure topped the consensus mark of $24.3 billion.

Agency bookings were $15.6 billion, down 16% from the prior-year quarter. The figure lagged the consensus mark of $17.4 billion.

Operating Results

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $1.9 million, which improved 7% year over year.

The adjusted EBITDA margin was 32.4%, which contracted 20 basis points (bps) from the prior-year quarter.

Per management, operating expenses were $4 billion, up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses contracted 100 bps year over year to 68.3%.

Booking Holdings generated an operating income of $1.9 million, which increased 10.9% year over year. The operating margin expanded 110 bps year over year to 31.7%.

Balance Sheet

As of Jun 30, 2024, the company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $16.3 billion, up from $15.6 billion as of Mar 31, 2024. Short-term investments amounted to $37 million, significantly down from $362 million at the end of the previous quarter.

Account receivables totaled $3.81 billion compared with $3.29 billion in the prior quarter.

At the end of the second quarter, Booking Holdings had $13.36 billion of long-term debt, down from $13.44 billion at the end of the first quarter.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Currently, Booking Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader retail-wholesale sector are The Gap (GPS - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) . The Gap sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Amazon and Best Buy carry a Zacks Rank #2  each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Gap has gained 11.2% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for GPS is estimated at 3.38%.

Shares of Amazon have gained 19.6% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for AMZN is projected at 29.60%.

Best Buy has gained 11.5% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for BBY is anticipated at 5.07%.

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