Sabre’s fourth-quarter results were met with a significant positive market reaction, reflecting investor optimism around the company’s performance and trajectory. Management attributed the momentum to continued gains in travel distribution share, the expansion of its multi-source content platform, and solid growth in both hotel distribution and the payments business. CEO Kurt J. Ekert emphasized, “Our growth outlook is driven by continued distribution share gains, expansion of our multi-source content platform, and improving performance in our airline technology business.” The quarter also saw progress in agentic AI initiatives and notable wins in air bookings and NDC (New Distribution Capability) integrations.
Is now the time to buy SABR? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Sabre (SABR) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $666.5 million vs analyst estimates of $651.8 million (3.4% year-on-year growth, 2.3% beat)
- EPS (GAAP): -$0.26 vs analyst expectations of -$0.20 (32.7% miss)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $110.5 million vs analyst estimates of $113.2 million (16.6% margin, 2.4% miss)
- EBITDA guidance for the upcoming financial year 2026 is $585 million at the midpoint, in line with analyst expectations
- Operating Margin: 3.2%, down from 7.1% in the same quarter last year
- Total Bookings: 83.47 million, up 2.49 million year on year
- Market Capitalization: $323.1 million
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 Sabre’s Q4 Earnings Call
- Dan Wasiolek (Morningstar): asked about the next stages for AI and potential upside. President Gary Wiseman said the focus is on delivering a seamless end-to-end conversational travel experience, with partnerships like MindTrip and PayPal enabling itinerary planning, payments, and servicing in one interface.
- Josh Baer (Morgan Stanley): questioned whether GenAI lowers the cost of direct connects for airlines and OTAs. Wiseman explained Sabre’s marketplace offers scalable, aggregated content and rapid response times that are difficult for suppliers to replicate, while CEO Ekert said AI increases the value of Sabre’s platform.
- Jack Halpert (Cantor Fitzgerald): asked about deepening partnerships with AI leaders like Google Gemini and OpenAI. CEO Ekert confirmed Sabre’s AI infrastructure leverages Google’s technology and that the company is in discussions with all major AI players.
- Victor Chang (Bank of America): inquired about the cadence and sustainability of volume growth, and regional NDC adoption. CEO Ekert noted growth is broad-based, with continued share gains, scaling of NDC, and success integrating low-cost carriers as key drivers.
- Jed Kelly (Oppenheimer): asked about free cash flow guidance and corporate travel trends. CFO Randolfi emphasized recent debt refinancing and positive cash balance, while Ekert said corporate travel volumes are recovering across both traditional agencies and new entrants.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will be watching (1) the scaling and revenue impact of Sabre’s agentic AI partnerships and conversational commerce integrations, (2) sustained share gains in travel distribution, particularly with new low-cost carrier and NDC content, and (3) the effectiveness of the inflation offset program in maintaining cost discipline as volumes grow. The adoption rate of Sabre’s proprietary AI APIs and the expansion of its payments business will also be important indicators of execution.
Sabre currently trades at $0.83, down from $0.94 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
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