Booking Holdings Inc. Common StockNASDAQ: BKNG

Booking Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

· Issued by Booking Holdings Inc. Common Stock

Summary by 6ix AI

Booking Holdings Inc. reported revenue of $8.9 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, down 1% from a year earlier, with net income of $2.7 billion, down 1%, and earnings per share of $3.61, up 7%. Gross bookings, the total value of travel booked by customers net of cancellations, rose 10% to $54.5 billion.

Key details

  • Revenue includes a $900 million reduction, and the company accrued a $100 million loss, related to a Federal Trade Commission matter. These are excluded from adjusted revenue of $9.8 billion (up 9%), adjusted net income of $3.5 billion (up 8%) and adjusted EPS of $4.66 (up 17%).
  • Room nights rose 7% to 345M. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted) was $4.6 billion, up 9%. Operating cash flow and free cash flow were each $1.1 billion, down 21% and 22%.
  • The board declared a cash dividend of $0.42 per share, payable on December 31, 2026 to stockholders of record as of December 11, 2026.
  • The company repurchased $2.1 billion (excluding excise taxes) of its common stock in the quarter, with $12.4 billion of authorization remaining as of September 30, 2026.
  • Share and per-share figures reflect the 25-for-1 stock split the company effected on April 2, 2026.

What’s still pending

  • For the fourth quarter of 2026, the company guides to gross bookings growth of 2% to 4% and adjusted revenue growth of 0% to 2%, with adjusted EBITDA about flat.
  • The guidance assumes the direct and indirect impacts of the Middle East conflict on travel persist through the end of the year.

6ix AI wrote this summary from the release below and checked it against the release.

NORWALK, CT - November 3, 2026…Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) (the "Company," "we," "our," or "us") today reported its third quarter 2026 financial results.

• Room nights grew 7% compared to the third quarter of 2025.

• Gross bookings grew 10% compared to the third quarter of 2025, or approximately 11% on a constant currency basis.

• Revenue declined 1% compared to the third quarter of 2025, while Adjusted Revenue grew 9%, orapproximately 10% on a constant currency basis.

• Net income declined 1% compared to the third quarter of 2025, while Adjusted Net income and AdjustedEBITDA grew 8% and 9%, respectively.

• GAAP EPS and Adjusted EPS grew 7% and 17%, respectively, compared to the third quarter of 2025.

Q3 2026 (#)  (Δ Y/Y)
Room Nights  345M  7%
Gross Bookings  $54.5B  10%
Revenue  $8.9B  (1%)
Adjusted Revenue  $9.8B  9%
GAAP Net Income  $2.7B  (1%)
Adjusted Net Income  $3.5B  8%
GAAP EPS  $3.61  7%
Adjusted EPS  $4.66  17%
Adjusted EBITDA  $4.6B  9%
Net Cash Provided By Operating Activities   $1.1B  (21%)
Free Cash Flow   $1.1B  (22%)

(1) Net Cash Provided By Operating Activities and Free Cash Flow both increased 2% on a year-to-date basis as compared to 2025.

Refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section at the end of this release for an explanation of constant currency and non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income margin, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Free Cash Flow, and Adjusted Fixed Operating Expenses, and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Gross bookings is an operating and statistical metric that captures the total dollar value, generally inclusive of taxes and fees, of all travel services booked by our customers, net of cancellations.

Gross Bookings does not reflect the impact of a Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") matter.

See the section in this press release under the heading "Additional Highlights - Discrete Items" for more information.

On April 2, 2026, the Company effected the 25-for-1 stock split of its common stock.

All share and per share information has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.

Booking Holdings Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

"We are pleased with our third-quarter operating performance, as resilient travel demand and disciplined execution by our teams drove double-digit gross bookings growth, margin expansion, and 17% adjusted earnings per share growth (GAAP earnings per share growth of 7%)" said Glenn Fogel, Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings.

As AI transforms the ways to discover, plan, and book travel, we continue to make progress integrating AI across our brands, developing AI-native experiences, and collaborating with industry-leading AI platforms.

While geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty may affect near-term travel trends, we remain focused on making travel easier, helping our partners succeed, and investing in our business for the long term."
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Return of Capital to Shareholders Fourth Quarter Dividend

• Our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.42 per share, payable on December 31, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 11, 2026.

• Stock Repurchase Program

• We repurchased $2.1 billion (excluding excise taxes) of our common stock in the quarter ended September 30, 2026 with a total remaining authorization of $12.4 billion as of September 30, 2026.

Discrete Items

• The Company recorded a reduction in revenue of $900 million and accrued a loss of $100 million related to an FTC matter, which have been excluded from Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted Net income, and Adjusted EBITDA (and other related measures), as applicable.

• See footnote 13 to the financial statements included in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026.

Additional Highlights

Margins

• Net income margin of 30.6% (30.5% in Q3 2025)

• Adjusted Net income margin of 35.8% (36.0% in Q3 2025)

• Adjusted EBITDA margin of 47.0% (47.0% in Q3 2025)

Third Quarter 2026 vs. 2025

Top Line Metrics

• Alternative accommodation room nights at Booking.com increased by 7%

• CC ADRs increased by about 3%

• Gross bookings increased 10% (approximately 11% on a CC basis) and revenue decreased 1% while adjusted revenue increased 9% (approximately 10% on a CC basis)

Fixed Costs

• Total operating expenses decreased 1%

• Disciplined cost management limited adjusted fixed operating expense growth to 6%, which included a slight reduction in personnel costs

Marketing Metrics

• Marketing expense as a percentage of gross bookings was 4.8% (4.7% in Q3 2025)

• B2C marketing leverage improved vs. Q3 2025

• Over the trailing four quarters, the mix of our total room nights booked through the direct channel was a mid-fifties percentage, similar to last yearGAAP EPS +7% Adjusted EPS +17%

(1) Constant Currency ("CC") and accommodation average daily rates ("ADRs")(2) Business-to-consumer marketing as a percentage of business-to-consumer gross bookings
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Booking Holdings' guidance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2026 is as follows:Global travel demand moderated somewhat toward the end of the third quarter, reflecting softer international travel trends, while domestic travel has remained resilient.

In October, a number of external factors have also affected demand, including disruptions to travel to and from the Middle East, the conflict’s broader indirect effects such as elevated airfares, and localized unrest in certain European cities.

Our guidance reflects these near-term disruptions and assumes that both the direct and indirect impacts of the Middle East conflict on travel persist through the end of the year.

Refer to the "Information About Forward-Looking Statements" section of this release.

(growth is on a year-over-year basis)  Q4 2026  FY 2026
Room Nights Growth  1% - 3%

Gross Bookings Growth  2% - 4%  High Single Digits

Constant Currency Gross Bookings Growth  4% - 6%  High Single Digits

Adjusted Revenue Growth   0% - 2%  High Single Digits
Constant Currency Adjusted Revenue Growth (1)(2)  2% - 4%  High Single Digits

Adjusted EBITDA Growth   About Flat  High Single Digits

Adjusted EPS Growth   Low to Mid-Teens

(1)Adjusted Revenue Growth includes a negative impact of about 2% in Q4 2026 and a benefit of about 0.5% for FY 2026 due to foreign currency exchange rates. (2)We are not able to provide a reconciliation between forward-looking Adjusted Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EPS, and their comparable GAAP measures as we cannot, without unreasonable effort, forecast certain items required to develop meaningful comparable GAAP measures and predict certain components of such reconciliation as they arise from events in future periods.

This is due to the unpredictable nature of these reconciling items, which would require an unreasonable effort to forecast, and would result in a large range of projected values that would not be meaningful to investors.

See Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Regulation S-K. (3)Excludes certain costs expected to be incurred related to the Transformation Program.

Refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section of this release. (4)Changes in foreign currency exchange rates are expected to impact our reported growth rate for Adjusted EBITDA by a similar amount of percentage points as Adjusted Revenue Growth for the fourth quarter. (5)Changes in foreign currency exchange rates are expected to have a limited impact on our reported growth rates for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS for the full year.

Outlook
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September 30,2026  December 31, 2025
(Unaudited)ASSETSCurrent assets:Cash and cash equivalents  $   15,814 $   17,203 
Accounts receivable, net (Allowance for expected credit losses of $153 and $137, respectively)    4,317     3,820 
Prepaid expenses, net    572     611 
Other current assets    889     630 
Total current assets    21,592     22,264 
Property and equipment, net    748     807 
Operating lease assets    591     632 
Intangible assets, net    759     918 
Goodwill    2,671     2,669 
Long-term investments    435     582 
Other assets, net    1,468     1,392 
Total assets  $   28,264 $   29,264 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICITCurrent liabilities:Accounts payable  $   5,221 $   5,094 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities    5,713     4,454 
Deferred merchant bookings    6,450     5,270 
Short-term debt    1,987     1,880 
Total current liabilities    19,371     16,698 
Operating lease liabilities    515     557 
Other long-term liabilities    711     731 
Long-term debt    18,074     16,856 
Total liabilities    38,671     34,842 
Commitments and contingenciesStockholders' deficit:Common stock, $0.008 par value,Authorized shares: 25,000 Issued shares: 1,618 and 1,613, respectively    13     13 
Treasury stock: 872 and 816 shares, respectively    (64,249)   (54,315) 
Additional paid-in capital    8,785     8,344 
Retained earnings    45,446     40,670 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss    (402)   (290) 
Total stockholders' deficit    (10,407)   (5,578) 
Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit  $   28,264 $   29,264

Consolidated Balance Sheets(In millions, except per share data)
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Three Months EndedSeptember 30,  Nine Months Ended September 30,
2026  2025  2026  2025
Merchant revenues  $   6,998 $   6,131 $   15,823 $   13,506 
Agency revenues    2,463     2,569     5,894     6,177 
Advertising and other revenues    332     308     960     885 
FTC matter    (900)   —     (900)   — 
Total revenues    8,893     9,008     21,777     20,568 
Operating expenses:Marketing expenses    2,588     2,340     7,027     6,256 
Sales and other expenses    1,097     1,022     2,843     2,623 
Personnel, including stock-based compensation of $145, $150, $426, and $446, respectively    944     945     2,737     2,534 
General and administrative    338     254     655     595 
Information technology    302     242     805     661 
Depreciation and amortization    183     160     443     472 
Impairment    —     457     —     457 
Transformation costs    23     105     78     175 
Total operating expenses    5,475     5,525     14,588     13,773 
Operating income    3,418     3,483     7,189     6,795 
Interest expense    (311)   (301)   (864)   (1,368) 
Interest and dividend income    221     248     609     723 
Other income (expense), net    95     39     448     (1,181) 
Income before income taxes    3,423     3,469     7,382     4,969 
Income tax expense    706     721     1,632     993 
Net income  $   2,717 $   2,748 $   5,750 $   3,976 
Net income applicable to common stockholders per basic common share  $   3.62 $   3.39 $   7.47 $   4.88 
Weighted-average number of basic common shares outstanding    750     810     769     814 
Net income applicable to common stockholders per diluted common share$   3.61 $   3.38 $   7.45 $   4.86 
Weighted-average number of diluted common shares outstanding    753     814     772     819

Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations(In millions, except per share data)
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