greeksoup/ stock research

Booking Holdings Inc.: Q1 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q1 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 28 April 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 lowered, 7 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Bookings and revenue both grew: Gross bookings rose 15% to $53.8B, about 8% on a constant currency basis. Revenue rose 16% to $5.5B, about 10% on a constant currency basis. Room nights rose 6% to 338 million. Source
  • Net income and EBITDA grew sharply: GAAP net income was $1.1B, up 225%. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.3B, up 19%, with a margin of 23.3% against 22.9% a year earlier. Source
  • Merchant gross bookings grew 24%: Merchant gross bookings reached $38.7B in the quarter, up 24.3% year over year. Source
  • Fixed costs rose 14% on FX: Adjusted fixed operating expenses were $1,324 million, up 14%. Reported personnel expense was $893 million, against $693 million a year earlier. Source
  • Deferred merchant bookings rose sharply: Deferred merchant bookings were $8,189 million at March 31, 2026, up from $5,270 million at December 31, 2025. Source
  • Conflict cut room night growth: Management estimates the Middle East conflict reduced room night growth by about 2 percentage points, and affected gross bookings growth in line with that. Source
  • Free cash flow was $3.1B: Free cash flow was $3,108 million, down 2%, after capital expenditure of $107 million. Net cash provided by operating activities was $3,215 million, down 2%. Source

““Despite headwinds associated with the Middle East conflict, we are pleased to report a solid start to 2026, with Adjusted EBITDA growth of 19% (net income growth of 225%), alongside 15% growth in gross bookings and 16% revenue growth,””

Glenn Fogel, Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Room nights growth SourceQ2 20262% - 4%New
Gross bookings growth SourceQ2 20264% - 6%New
Constant currency gross bookings growth SourceQ2 20262% - 4%New
Revenue growth SourceQ2 20264% - 6%New
Constant currency revenue growth SourceQ2 20262% - 4%New
Adjusted EBITDA growth SourceQ2 20264% - 6%New
FX benefit to revenue growth SourceQ2 2026about 2%New
FX benefit to revenue growth SourceFY 2026about 1.5%Lowered from about 2%

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Second-quarter 2026 guidance is given in this release; the prior release covered only the first quarter and full year. Source
  • Guidance lowered: Full-year revenue growth range moved from low double digits to high single digits. Source
  • Guidance lowered: Full-year constant currency revenue growth range moved from high single digits to mid to high single digits. Source
  • Guidance lowered: Full-year gross bookings growth range moved from low double digits to high single digits to low double digits. Source
  • Guidance lowered: Full-year Adjusted EPS growth range moved from mid-teens to low to mid-teens. Source
  • Guidance kept: Full-year constant currency gross bookings growth remains at high single digits. Source
  • New: The 25-for-1 stock split approved in the prior release was effected on April 2, 2026. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Bookings and revenue both grew: Gross bookings rose 15% to $53.8B, about 8% on a constant currency basis. Revenue rose 16% to $5.5B, about 10% on a constant currency basis. Room nights rose 6% to 338 million. Source
  • Net income and EBITDA grew sharply: GAAP net income was $1.1B, up 225%. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.3B, up 19%, with a margin of 23.3% against 22.9% a year earlier. Source
  • GAAP EPS up 239%, Adjusted up 14%: GAAP diluted EPS was $1.36, up 239%. Adjusted EPS was $1.14, up 14%, against $0.99 a year earlier. Source
  • Operating expenses grew slower than revenue: Total operating expenses rose 15% against 16% revenue growth. Operating income was $1,271 million, against $1,062 million a year earlier. Source

Merchant and agency revenues

  • Merchant revenue rose, agency fell: Merchant revenues were $3,698 million, up from $2,918 million. Agency revenues were $1,528 million, down from $1,564 million. Advertising and other revenues were $306 million, up from $280 million. Source
  • Merchant gross bookings grew 24%: Merchant gross bookings reached $38.7B in the quarter, up 24.3% year over year. Source
  • Agency gross bookings declined 3.1%: Agency gross bookings were $15.0B, down 3.1% year over year. Source

“These results highlight the resilience of our business and the discipline of our execution.”

Glenn Fogel, Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings

Products and customers

  • Alternative accommodation room nights up: Alternative accommodation room nights at Booking.com rose 5.5%. Constant currency ADRs rose about 1%. Airline tickets reached 21 million, up 28.5%. Rental car days were 21 million, down 4.9%. Source
  • Direct channel share held steady: Over the trailing four quarters, direct channel share of room nights was a mid-fifties percentage, similar to last year. Source
  • Marketing spend held at 3.8%: Marketing expense was 3.8% of gross bookings, the same as in Q1 2025. Source

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Fixed costs rose 14% on FX: Adjusted fixed operating expenses were $1,324 million, up 14%. Reported personnel expense was $893 million, against $693 million a year earlier. Source
  • Net income margin rose to 19.6%: Net income margin was 19.6%, against 7.0% a year earlier. Source
  • Litigation gain excluded from adjusted results: The $89 million gain from litigation settlements is removed from Adjusted net income and Adjusted EBITDA. Source

“Although the conflict’s dynamics impacted the quarter’s results, our underlying performance exceeded expectations across all key metrics, with continued strength in our strategic growth areas, particularly in the U.S.”

Glenn Fogel, Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings

Demand, bookings and the conflict

  • Deferred merchant bookings rose sharply: Deferred merchant bookings were $8,189 million at March 31, 2026, up from $5,270 million at December 31, 2025. Source
  • Conflict cut room night growth: Management estimates the Middle East conflict reduced room night growth by about 2 percentage points, and affected gross bookings growth in line with that. Source
  • Second-quarter guidance assumes conflict through June: Second-quarter guidance assumes the direct and indirect conflict impact continues through the end of June. Source

Capital, cash and shareholder returns

  • Free cash flow was $3.1B: Free cash flow was $3,108 million, down 2%, after capital expenditure of $107 million. Net cash provided by operating activities was $3,215 million, down 2%. Source
  • $3.6B of stock repurchased: The company repurchased $3.6B of stock, excluding excise taxes, in the quarter, with $18.2B of authorization remaining at March 31, 2026. Source
  • Cash fell, short-term debt rose: Cash and cash equivalents were $16,024 million, down from $17,203 million. Short-term debt rose to $3,015 million from $1,880 million, while long-term debt fell to $15,398 million. Source

Strategy and investment

  • Connected Trip and Generative AI focus: Management named the Connected Trip vision, global reach and Generative AI as areas it controls. Source
  • Transformation costs in the quarter: Transformation costs were $25 million, against $32 million a year earlier. Certain such costs are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted net income. Source
  • Canadian digital services tax repealed: A $14 million benefit related to prior-period Canadian digital services taxes is excluded from Adjusted results, after the tax was repealed in March 2026. Source

Coming up, as management said on 28 April 2026

  • Dividend payable June 30, 2026: Second-quarter cash dividend of $0.42 per share, with a record date of June 5, 2026 and payment on June 30, 2026. Source
  • Second-half bookings recovery expected: Full-year planning assumes the conflict impact runs through June, followed by a recovery in bookings in the second half. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Room nights (volume) Source338 million, up 6%
Rental car days (volume) Source21 million, down 4.9%
Airline tickets (volume) Source21 million, up 28.5%
Constant currency ADRs (yield) Sourceup about 1%

Risks management discussed

  • Demand: Guidance allows for continued demand fluctuations on Middle Eastern inbound, outbound and intra-region routes, and for disruptions to transit corridors such as Europe to Asia. Source
  • External: A sustained conflict could bring broader inflation, jet fuel price swings, airline capacity cuts and lower traveler sentiment, which management has not included in guidance. Source
  • External: Management said the second-quarter and full-year guidance rests on estimates in an unusually unpredictable environment. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS guidance exclude certain costs expected from the Transformation Program. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.