Good news for travel agencies like Expedia (EXPE) in 2025: it is expected to be a red-letter year for travel. A range of use cases are on the rise, and 2025 should prove to be an absolute winner for travelers and those who provide service for them. But investors were a little less sure, sending shares of Expedia down fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed that total passenger numbers are set to hit 5.2 billion in 2025, which is up 6.7% against 2024’s figures. Further, this will be the first time ever that the passenger figures clear the five billion mark, which is a milestone in and of itself.
Travelers will apparently be focusing on destinations that were made popular by television shows, the report noted, as well as looking for places to relax in particular. In fact, Asian travel will prove the most popular, as it is currently the number one trending region in most searches. But it will not be just Asia seeing a lot more American travelers, the report noted. Two out of three flights searched in 2025 were for international flights.
A Rising Tide Lifts Expedia’s Boat
This news comes at an excellent time for Expedia, as just days ago, Justin Post with Bank of America released a report that saw Expedia’s rating go from Neutral to Buy. Post hiked the price target from $187 per share to $221 as well, after looking at “aggregated credit card data” that suggested improving trends ahead for travel demand overall.
This actually improves things for Expedia, as Post previously noted concern about Expedia’s rate of growth when compared against its major competitors in the field, like Airbnb (ABNB). But with signs of growth on the horizon for the entire industry and for Expedia, that likely prompted Post’s reconsidering of Expedia shares.
Is Expedia Stock a Buy Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on EXPE stock based on eight Buys and 18 Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 25.46% rally in its share price over the past year, the average EXPE price target of $184 per share implies 1.49% downside risk.
