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EU tech regulators will investigate whether online hotel reservation website Booking.com is doing ​enough to weed out fraudulent listings and phishing scams to comply ‌with EU online content rules, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The Commission, which is the EU tech and competition enforcer, said it opened an investigation following a ​preliminary probe and after analysing risk assessment reports submitted by Booking.com ​this year and the previous three years.

Big online platforms are ⁠required to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on ​their sites under the bloc's Digital Services Act, or risk fines of as ​much as 6% of their global annual turnover for violations.

Booking.com said it was engaging constructively with the Commission. "Security, trust and the protection of personal information are top priorities ​at Booking.com," a spokesperson for the company said.

"We remain committed to ​working with relevant governments, regulators, law enforcement and industry partners to combat cybercrime and online ‌fraud, ⁠and protect travelers and partners."

The EU investigation will focus on fake listings — such as for non-existent properties — impersonation fraud and non-compliant accommodation offers, and whether Booking.com has properly identified, assessed and mitigated the systemic risks related ​to these.

Regulators will ​also look into ⁠phishing scams exploiting Booking.com's reservation and guest data shared with accommodation providers, the Commission said.

A third element will ​be paid-for boosted listings not clearly identifiable as advertisements. ​Booking.com is ⁠part of Booking Holdings (BKNG.O).

"Europeans should be able to book their holidays without fear of being scammed," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.

"The ⁠Digital Services ​Act sets clear responsibilities on platforms to ​address these risks, and we must ensure that the leading booking platform in Europe takes ​those responsibilities seriously," she said.

Meta's new AI agent can book a flight or hotel room without ever visiting Expedia, Airbnb, or Booking Holdings, and Wall Street is now asking whether the aggregator business model has a future at all.

Online travel booking stocks are selling off in Wednesday morning trading as the market reprices the aggregator model against Muse, the personal artificial intelligence (AI) agent from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction). Muse can search, compare and complete a booking directly with an airline or a hotel, removing the reason a traveler would pass through an aggregator and the fee that goes with it. Meta Platforms stock is at $751.12, up 2% as the platform whose agent is the source of the threat.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLY) is down 2% in the same session. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) is down 1%. Both are lower, yet the travel names are falling far more sharply, which marks this as a repricing of the middle layer rather than consumer weakness or a broad tech selloff.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) stock is at $260.33, down 7% in Wednesday morning trading. Also declining, Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) stock is at $151.66, down 6% in the same session. Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) stock is at $156.02, down 5% on the same thesis.

Why Muse Threatens Booking Fees The concern for online travel booking companies is disintermediation. An agent that can execute a full booking on a traveler’s behalf turns aggregator sites into a step the customer no longer has to visit, and the commission goes with it. Expedia Group carries the heaviest loss of the three, which fits the thesis, since the business closest to pure aggregation has the least to offer a traveler whose agent can go straight to the supplier.

Goldman Sachs warned in a trading desk note that industries built on recurring bills, add-on charges and customer passivity face significant disruption from agents of this kind. The selling has spread beyond travel into financials, insurance and telecom, which is why this reads as a broader re-underwriting of middleman business models rather than a travel-demand story. Expedia, Airbnb and Booking Holdings have posted no company-specific disclosure for Wednesday’s session, so the three are falling on that shared thesis.

Where Airbnb Sits Differently Airbnb owns access to supply that can’t be booked elsewhere, which is the distinction any agent-driven repricing will eventually test. A hotel room can be sourced directly from the hotel. A specific Airbnb listing can’t. Whether that earns Airbnb a different multiple than the aggregators is the question this selloff is really asking.

Booking Holdings and Expedia both operate broad aggregation portfolios spanning hotels, flights, rentals and packages, which is why they are treated as more exposed on the same thesis. Meta Platforms sits on the other side of the trade as the distributor of the agent, priced today as the party that collects the toll rather than the toll itself.

What to Watch Next Traders can watch for whether Wednesday’s losses hold into the close and whether Expedia, Airbnb or Booking Holdings posts a formal response to the Muse thesis. A statement addressing agent traffic, direct booking share or a partnership with an AI platform would be the first signal that management wants to reset the narrative.

The wider spillover into financials, insurance and telecom is the tell that this trade is about middlemen broadly beyond travel. Investors weighing their positions in Expedia, Airbnb or Booking Holdings may want to keep an eye on whether the aggregation multiple compresses further from here, and size their exposure to reflect a business model the market is actively re-underwriting.

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Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 1,813.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,875 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in Booking by 191,965.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $3,271,041,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 1.5% Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $167.90 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $193.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $225.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Booking Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,800,000. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $259,530.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,900 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,138. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,274 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.98.

View Our Latest Stock Report on BKNG

About Booking (Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.

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3 Stocks Whose Charts May Be Signaling the Next Big MoveBooking NASDAQ: BKNG Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen said the company’s second-quarter performance reflected resilient travel demand, with booking trends improving from June after consumers initially delayed plans amid conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking at a conference, Steenbergen said travelers became more cautious in March through May but ultimately did not abandon summer trips. Demand strengthened as the direct effects of the Middle East conflict on inbound and outbound travel in the region began to normalize, he said.

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Why Analysts Are Bullish on a Stock That's Down 20%The remaining effect was more indirect, particularly through oil and jet fuel prices, airline capacity and airfare. Steenbergen said consumers in Europe and Asia shifted toward domestic and intra-regional destinations rather than long-haul or intercontinental travel. However, he said the change represented a shift in destinations rather than a decline in overall demand.

“The word that is describing the theme of the quarter was resilience,” Steenbergen said, adding that Booking viewed its second-quarter results as “very solid.”

U.S. Travel Strengthens as Platform Evolves Trip.com’s Selloff Raises a Bigger Question About Its Travel Recovery StorySteenbergen said the U.S. was Booking’s strongest major travel market during the second quarter, reversing a period in which it had lagged other large regions. He said the company was seeing strength across customer segments, rather than the bifurcated consumer environment seen in prior years.

He described Booking’s evolution from a primarily transactional hotel-booking platform into a broader travel marketplace. The company now offers alternative accommodations as well as flights, attractions, rental cars, rideshare and restaurants, he said.

About two-thirds of Booking’s traffic now comes directly to its marketplace, according to Steenbergen. The company facilitates payments on a low-70% share of its transactions. Customers are increasingly returning through the Genius loyalty program, he said. Alternative accommodations remain a significant growth opportunity, particularly in the U.S., where Booking’s relative position is smaller than in Europe and Asia, Steenbergen said. The company reported 8% year-over-year growth in listings during the quarter, reaching 9.1 million listings.

Booking is working to improve supply, product familiarity and its U.S. market position in alternative accommodations, he said.

Connected Trip and AI Initiatives Steenbergen said Booking’s Connected Trip strategy—combining components such as flights, accommodations, rental cars and attractions—already represents a low double-digit percentage of total transactions and is growing faster than individual bookings.

The approach can improve unit economics because Booking may acquire a customer once and subsequently cross-sell other trip elements, he said. The company also sees the strategy as part of a broader flywheel involving direct traffic, repeat customers, loyalty benefits and bookings across multiple travel categories.

Artificial intelligence is expected to enhance the Connected Trip experience by helping coordinate changes across travel components, Steenbergen said. For example, AI tools could notify a hotel of a delayed flight, adjust a restaurant reservation or recommend itinerary changes based on weather conditions.

Booking is also using AI-based planning tools across its brands. Steenbergen cited Priceline’s Penny as one product currently live, while Agoda is expected to launch a similar offering. Booking.com is incorporating AI features into its existing user experience rather than making a wholesale redesign, he said.

Traffic from large language models remains “significantly below 1%,” including paid and unpaid traffic, Steenbergen said. While consumers are using such tools for travel research, he said they continue to complete bookings on platforms they know and trust because travel purchases are high-value and consequential.

Booking is working with large language model providers and is a launch partner in OpenAI testing, Steenbergen said. He expects such platforms to increasingly use pay-per-click auction models, potentially expanding the number of performance-marketing channels available to Booking.

Efficiency Gains and Capital Allocation The company is also deploying generative AI internally. Steenbergen said total customer-service costs are declining, while customer-service cost per booking has fallen by more than 10% year over year. He attributed the improvement to agentic interactions that can shorten resolution times and improve customer satisfaction.

Within engineering, Booking has seen about a 30% increase in merge requests put into production through the use of AI tools, he said. Although AI token and licensing expenses have risen, average cost per merge request has declined meaningfully when including both labor and AI costs.

Steenbergen said Booking’s transformation program identified an additional $100 million in savings opportunities, primarily in procurement. The company has sought to consolidate purchasing across brands, including cloud computing and server procurement.

He said Booking has industry-leading EBITDA margins on a fully loaded basis and intends to continue balancing efficiency initiatives with investments in growth. The company generates more than $9 billion in free cash flow, according to Steenbergen.

On capital allocation, Steenbergen said Booking prioritizes organic investment, followed by selectively pursuing strategically attractive acquisitions. He said the company remains cautious on merger-and-acquisition valuations. Booking repurchased $7.3 billion of its shares in the first half of the year, taking advantage of what Steenbergen characterized as attractive levels.

Steenbergen said the company’s marketplace remains durable because it serves both travelers and a fragmented supplier base. Booking has 4.7 million properties on its platform, he said, and nearly 90% of room nights booked on its marketplace come from alternative accommodations, independent hotels and smaller hotel chains. He added that customers in Genius loyalty levels 2 and 3 account for nearly 60% of bookings while representing about 30% of customers.

About Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 40,900.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,681 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its position in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.70. Read Our Latest Stock Report on BKNG

Booking Stock Performance Shares of BKNG stock opened at $193.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $194.53 and its 200 day moving average is $178.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Booking Profile (Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Booking Holdings (BKNG - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 3.6% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Booking Holdings due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Booking Holdings Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Rise Y/YBooking Holdings reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.54 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.67%. The figure increased 15% year over year.

Revenues of $7.35 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by 2.26% and increased 8% year over year and about 7% on a constant currency (cc) basis.

The company benefited from resilient travel demand, with room nights rising 5% year over year to 325 million. Gross bookings increased by 9% to $51.0 billion, supported by room-night growth, higher constant-currency average daily rates and contributions from other travel verticals.

BKNG Delivers Broad Travel GrowthBooking Holdings’ room-night growth reflected continued demand despite geopolitical pressures. Domestic room nights grew high single digits globally, while international room nights increased slightly as long-haul travel remained affected by indirect impacts from the Middle East conflict.

The company saw mid-single-digit room night growth in Europe, Asia and the Rest of World, while the U.S. grew high single digits. Alternative accommodation room nights at Booking.com increased 4% year over year, with the category representing approximately 37% of Booking.com room nights.

Booking Holdings Expands Strategic InitiativesBooking Holdings continued to build its Connected Trip strategy, which combines multiple travel services into a more integrated customer experience. Connected Trip transactions grew in the low double digits year over year and represented a low double-digit percentage of Booking.com’s total transactions.

The company also highlighted progress in loyalty and mobile engagement. Level 2 and Level 3 Genius members accounted for a high-50% share of room nights, while the mobile app mix of total room nights remained in the high-50% range, both increasing year over year.

BKNG’s Revenue Growth Benefits From PaymentsMerchant revenues were $5.13 billion (69.7% of total revenues), up 15% year over year. Agency revenues were $1.90 billion (25.9% of total revenues), down 6.9% year over year. Advertising & Other revenues were $322 million (4.4% of total revenues), up 8.4% year over year.

Revenue growth trailed gross bookings growth primarily due to elevated cancellations in March that affected second-quarter revenues. The company also noted that higher payment revenues supported revenue performance during the quarter.

BKNG’s Q2 Operating ResultsBooking Holdings maintained cost discipline during the quarter. Total operating expenses increased 7% year over year to $4.85 billion, slower than revenue growth. Marketing expenses increased 11% to $2.37 billion, while sales and other expenses rose 5% to $942 million.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 9% year over year to $2.65 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 40 basis points year over year.

BKNG increased its expected annual run-rate savings from its Transformation Program to approximately $650 million, with the additional savings expected to be realized primarily in 2027. The company incurred approximately $30 million in transformation costs during the second quarter.

BKNG’s Q2 Balance Sheet & Cash FlowAs of June 30, 2026, the company's cash and cash equivalents totaled $17.21 billion, up from $16.02 billion as of March 31, 2026.

Booking Holdings had $18.18 billion of total long-term debt, up from $15.40 billion as of March 31, 2026.

The company generated $3.64 billion in free cash flow during the quarter, up 16% year over year. BKNG returned $4.1 billion to its shareholders, including $3.7 billion through share repurchases, marking its highest quarterly capital return amount in company history.

Booking Holdings’ Q3 & 2026 OutlookBooking Holdings expects third-quarter 2026 room nights to grow 3% to 5%, while gross bookings, revenues and adjusted EBITDA are each projected to increase 4% to 6% year over year. The outlook assumes stability in the broader travel environment and continued indirect impacts from the Middle East conflict.

For full-year 2026, the company expects gross bookings, revenues and adjusted EBITDA to increase in the high-single-digit range, while adjusted EPS growth is projected in the low-to-mid-teens range. Management continues to focus on Connected Trip, AI capabilities and expansion in key markets.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a flat trend in estimates review.

VGM ScoresCurrently, Booking Holdings has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a B. However, the stock has a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook Booking Holdings has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 87,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,641,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in Booking by 2,860.8% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Booking by 1,663.9% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after acquiring an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,396,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Booking Booking Trading Up 1.5% Booking stock opened at $205.63 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $226.10. The company has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.64.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile (Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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Bowie Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 381,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $68,004,000. Booking comprises about 2.9% of Bowie Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bowie Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Booking as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 1.5% Shares of Booking stock opened at $209.87 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year. Booking Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus increased their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Read Our Latest Report on BKNG

Insider Transactions at Booking In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Profile (Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,898,000. Booking accounts for about 1.5% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction. Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales Booking Price Performance Shares of Booking stock opened at $213.00 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The firm has a market cap of $160.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.78 and a 200 day moving average of $177.12. Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades BKNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC cut their target price on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Gordon Haskett upped their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on BKNG

Insider Buying and Selling In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Company Profile (Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 2,956.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,342 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Booking by 66,209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after acquiring an additional 658,788 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Booking by 2,548.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,785,000 after acquiring an additional 625,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,271,041,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.6% Shares of BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Check Out Our Latest Report on BKNG

Booking Profile (Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Booking Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report).

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By PYMNTS  |  August 4, 2026

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Highlights

Booking Holding’s merchant platform now handles roughly 73% of gross bookings, giving it greater influence over checkout, settlement, refunds and the economics of multi-part trips.

Traffic from large language models remains below 1% of room nights, while AI is already lowering customer-service costs, improving supplier communications and reducing transaction friction.

Booking Holdings is combining loyalty, supplier connectivity, payments and AI to move beyond individual reservations and become the infrastructure coordinating the entire travel journey.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) can recommend a hotel, assemble an itinerary or suggest a cheaper travel date. It cannot independently guarantee inventory, calculate cancellation terms, authenticate a customer, manage currency conversion or settle funds with multiple suppliers.

That side of the business—the commercial infrastructure—is what Booking Holdings executives told investors they were focusing on during Tuesday’s (Aug. 4) second quarter 2026 earnings call.

“We remain focused on what we can control—building better experiences for travelers, creating greater value for our partners, and strengthening our business for the long term,” said Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings. “Despite continued geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty during the second quarter, the underlying desire to travel remained resilient, and we are pleased with our results, which reflect the strength of our global platform and the disciplined execution of our teams.”

Booking Holdings reported an 8% increase in revenue from a year earlier to approximately $7.35 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of roughly $7.19 billion. Gross bookings rose 9% to approximately $51 billion, while room nights increased 5%, and travel demand remained resilient despite macroeconomic uncertainty and continued disruption in the Middle East. The company maintained its full-year expectation for high-single-digit revenue growth and low- to mid-teens adjusted earnings growth.

Booking Sees Payments As the Connected Trip’s Control Layer Traditional online travel agencies were built around search. A customer entered a destination and dates, compared a ranked list of hotels and completed a reservation. The platform’s primary economic role was matching demand with inventory. AI allows Booking to move closer to coordinating the entire journey.

Rather than functioning solely as an advertising or reservation intermediary, Booking can manage how customers pay, how suppliers receive funds and how refunds, cancellations and changes are handled. The company can also embed loyalty benefits and merchandising offers across multiple travel categories.

Booking’s connected-trip strategy is designed to link accommodations with flights, rental cars, attractions and other services. During the second quarter, transactions containing more than one travel category grew in the low double digits and expanded more than twice as fast as Booking.com’s overall transaction volume.

Merchant gross bookings represented approximately 73% of total gross bookings during the quarter, four percentage points more than a year earlier. Management described payments as the “glue” connecting the company’s travel products because they create a more consistent checkout experience while generating additional contribution-margin dollars.

Booking’s Supplier Tools Turn AI Into a B2B Product  Booking Holdings already operates platforms spanning accommodations, flights, restaurants, rental cars and travel search, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable. The company describes its platforms as using AI and machine learning to personalize travel for consumers and partners across more than 220 countries and territories.

Booking Holdings has deployed voice AI across the majority of eligible inbound traveler calls and is using automation, analytics and real-time agent assistance to resolve customer issues. Customer-service cost per booking is declining at a double-digit rate while satisfaction remains high, management said. The company is also developing tools that help accommodation providers respond to guests, improve property content and operate more efficiently. AI-powered messaging can answer common traveler questions more quickly, while data and personalization tools can help properties present their inventory more effectively.

That creates a B2B distribution proposition. Suppliers gain access to demand, payments, customer-service infrastructure and automation through one platform. Booking Holdings gains more consistent data and greater control over the customer experience.

Booking’s Genius loyalty program strengthens that dynamic. Higher-tier members represented more than 30% of active customers and generated a high-50% share of room nights during the quarter. They also returned more frequently and booked through direct channels at higher rates than non-Genius travelers.

AI may change where a traveler asks the first question, but it does not eliminate Booking Holdings’ need to authenticate the customer, collect funds, pay suppliers, manage disputes and support the transaction when something goes wrong.

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Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) will release its second quarter earnings report after the closing bell on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Analysts expect the Norwalk, Connecticut-based company to report quarterly earnings of $2.44 per share, up from $2.22 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for BKNG’s quarterly revenue is $7.19 billion. It reported $6.8 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

On April 28, Booking Holdings posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Booking Holdings shares fell 0.1% to close at $192.71 on Monday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.

Considering buying BKNG stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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Booking Holdings (BKNG - Free Report) closed at $174.29 in the latest trading session, marking a -4.21% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.28%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.09%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.2%.

Heading into today, shares of the online booking service had gained 10.95% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 0.18% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.64%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Booking Holdings in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on August 4, 2026. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.47, signifying a 11.26% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $7.19 billion, showing a 5.74% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.44 per share and revenue of $29.4 billion, which would represent changes of +14.47% and +9.23%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Booking Holdings. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Right now, Booking Holdings possesses a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Looking at valuation, Booking Holdings is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.43. This valuation marks no noticeable deviation compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 17.43.

Also, we should mention that BKNG has a PEG ratio of 1.09. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Internet - Commerce industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.09.

The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 181, placing it within the bottom 27% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow BKNG in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.