Online travel agency Booking Holdings (BKNG) has reported fourth-quarter 2024 financial results that beat Wall Street’s expectations across the board.
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The Connecticut-based company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $41.55. That was far ahead of the $36.08 that was the consensus expectation of analysts who track the company’s progress. Revenue in the final months of 2024 totaled $5.47 billion, beating forecasts that called for $5.19 billion.
For all of last year, the company reported EPS of $172.69 on revenue of $23.74 billion. Management attributed the strong results to booming demand for international travel. In particular, leisure travel in Europe, the company’s largest market, has remained strong, led by trips among American travelers.
Rising Demand in Asia
Travel demand has also been rising in Asia-Pacific, with destinations in Southeast Asia benefiting from an influx of Chinese tourists after the lifting of some visa restrictions. Total room nights booked through Booking Holdings increased 13% from a year earlier in Q4 2024 to 261 million. The company posted gross bookings of $37.2 billion, up about 17% from a year earlier.
Booking Holdings runs several travel websites, including Booking.com, Priceline.com, Kayak, Cheapflights, and Rentalcars.com, among others. The company operates websites in 40 languages across 200 countries. Over the last 12 months, BKNG stock has risen 38%.
Is BKNG Stock a Buy?
The stock of Booking Holdings has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 21 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 15 Buy and six Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average BKNG price target of $5,446.37 implies 8.53% upside from current levels. These ratings are likely to change after the latest financial results.
