Mackenzie Tatananni

Shares of online travel agency Booking Holdings fell on Wednesday as a strong first-quarter print was overshadowed by concerns about ramping geopolitical tensions and their impact on the industry.

Booking's adjusted earnings per share of $24.81 handily topped the $17.37 analysts were expecting, according to FactSet. Revenue of $4.8 billion also came in above the $4.6 billion Wall Street had forecast.

While the company still anticipates mid-to-high single-digit growth in gross bookings and revenue for the full year, management widened the guidance range for constant currency growth to reflect "increased uncertainty in the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment."

CEO Glenn Fogel acknowledged "concerns about the strength of consumer demand" on the earnings call, but asserted that the company was seeing stable levels of global leisure travel demand so far into the second quarter.

Shares fell 3.4% to $4,741 in premarket trading Wednesday. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 were down 1.2%.

While the market reaction implies otherwise, Booking offered a "solid print across the board," Benchmark Equity Research analyst Daniel Kurnos said.

"Assuming management correctly incorporated sufficient risk into the revised guidance range, it is hard not to view it as the safest port in a potential storm, especially considering how well it has performed relative to the peer group in recent downturns," Kurnos added.

Booking's latest results could be seen as a read-through for other agencies. Next up are earnings from Airbnb and Expedia Group, two companies with notably more domestic exposure. Shares of Airbnb were down 1.1% in premarket trading Wednesday, while Expedia fell 2.5%.

Other sectors within the broader travel industry appear to be facing weaker demand. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings noted a "softening" in 12-month forward bookings in its latest earnings report.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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April 30, 2025 08:57 ET (12:57 GMT)

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