Booking’s fourth quarter drew a negative market reaction, despite revenue and non-GAAP profit meeting or exceeding Wall Street expectations. Management attributed the period’s growth to robust travel demand across all major regions and increased investment in performance marketing and social media channels, particularly in Asia and the U.S. CEO Glenn Fogel highlighted the continued expansion of the Genius loyalty program and the integration of generative AI into customer service operations as key contributors. Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen noted, “Our absolute number in terms of customer service costs are down and our bookings are up approximately 10%.”
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Booking (BKNG) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $6.35 billion vs analyst estimates of $6.13 billion (16% year-on-year growth, 3.6% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $48.80 vs analyst expectations of $48.67 (in line)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $2.20 billion vs analyst estimates of $2.11 billion (34.6% margin, 3.9% beat)
- Operating Margin: 32%, in line with the same quarter last year
- Room Nights Booked: 285 million, up 24 million year on year
- Market Capitalization: $128.9 billion
While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.
Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Booking’s Q4 Earnings Call
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Mark Stephen Mahaney (Evercore) asked about the increase in marketing spend and its sustainability. CEO Glenn Fogel stated that the company remains opportunistic with marketing investments, balancing short-term expense deleverage with long-term franchise value.
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Lee Horowitz (Deutsche Bank) inquired about the economic impact and rollout cadence of agentic AI capabilities. CFO Ewout Steenbergen said early results show faster search, higher conversion, and lower cancellation rates, but numbers are still small and rollout timelines were not disclosed.
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Eric Sheridan (Goldman Sachs) questioned the momentum and investment plans for the Genius loyalty program. Fogel called loyalty a top priority, noting Genius members’ growing share of bookings and hinting at further enhancements, though specifics remain undisclosed.
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Alex Brignall (Rothschild & Company) sought insight on Booking’s partnerships with large language model providers and competitive positioning. Fogel argued that complex payment processing and supplier relationships differentiate Booking, making deep LLM integration by competitors unlikely.
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Trevor Young (Barclays) asked about alternative accommodation growth and whether it would reaccelerate. Fogel and Steenbergen underscored the segment’s potential and ongoing investment, especially in supply expansion, but did not commit to a growth rate.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
Looking ahead, the StockStory team will focus on (1) the pace of adoption and monetization of Booking’s agentic AI tools and Connected Trip features, (2) the effectiveness of continued investment in Asia and U.S. market share gains, and (3) the company’s ability to sustain operational efficiency gains from the Transformation Program. Additional watchpoints include enhancements to the Genius loyalty program and progress in alternative accommodations.
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