By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stock traded 6% lower in premarket Thursday as the online travel agency lagged on crucial operational parameters even at the end of the fourth quarter.
The stock was under extra pressure due to the developing international crisis arising out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Gross bookings, which represent all travel services excluding cancellations, increased 160% to $19 billion, Booking said.
While meeting Wall Street expectations, gross bookings are still behind pre-pandemic levels. They rose 160% to $19 billion in the fourth quarter, $1.7 billion short of the figure in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Similarly, room nights booked in October-December came to be 151 million, compared with estimates of nearly 166 million, according to a Bloomberg poll. Room nights booked in the same quarter of 2019 were 191 million.
In comparison, rivals Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) and Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) had beaten expectations while disclosing their recent quarterly results. Airbnb said it was benefiting from people looking to stay at rented properties for longer durations. They were also paying more, it said.
Chief Financial Officer David Goulden told analysts, the company is seeing stronger signs of a recovery underway this month. Room nights for the first half of February were close to 2019 levels, with particularly strong growth in the US, he said.
Booking Holdings’ total revenue in the fourth quarter climbed 141% to $2.98 billion. The company swung back to a net profit of $618 million in the quarter compared to a loss a year ago. On a per share basis, adjusted profit was $15.83; together with revenue, beat estimates.