Booking Holdings reports adjusted EPS beat, revenue miss and cautious fourth-quarter outlook

Booking's third-quarter profit and booking activity

Booking Holdings reported adjusted EPS of $4.66 for the quarter ended September 2026, up 17% from $3.98 a year earlier. Adjusted EPS exceeded forecasts of $4.49 to $4.50, while the average share count declined 7.5%.

Gross bookings increased 10% to $54.5 billion, and the company sold 345 million room nights, up 7%. Adjusted revenue rose 9% to $9.8 billion, adjusted EBITDA increased 9% to about $4.6 billion, and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 47.0%. Free cash flow was $1.1 billion.

Reported revenue declined after an FTC-related reduction

GAAP revenue fell 1.3% to $8.89 billion, versus estimates ranging from $9.54 billion to $9.56 billion. Booking recorded a $900 million reduction in revenue and accrued a $100 million loss connected to an FTC matter involving Priceline's relationship with Guest Reservations, a third-party hotel-booking website.

No settlement had been agreed, and Booking said it was discussing the matter with the FTC. The company warned that additional litigation, regulatory proceedings or fines in other jurisdictions could affect its business, results and reputation.

The quarterly filing reported GAAP diluted EPS of $3.61, up 7%, and adjusted net income of $3.5 billion, up 8%. It also showed operating cash flow of $1.1 billion, down 21%, and free cash flow of $1.1 billion, down 22%.

Fourth-quarter outlook shows slower growth

Management forecast room-night growth of 1% to 3% for the fourth quarter, gross-booking growth of 2% to 4%, adjusted-revenue growth of 0% to 2%, and roughly flat adjusted EBITDA on a year-over-year basis. The outlook assumed that the direct and indirect effects of the Middle East conflict on travel would persist through year-end.

Management said travel demand moderated late in the third quarter, with softer international travel, elevated airfares linked to the conflict and localized unrest in some European cities. Domestic travel remained more resilient. For full-year 2026, the company maintained high-single-digit growth expectations for gross bookings, adjusted revenue and adjusted EBITDA, along with low- to mid-teens adjusted EPS growth.

Capital returns and operational measures

Booking repurchased $2.1 billion of shares in the third quarter and had $12.4 billion remaining under its authorization as of September 30. Its board declared a cash dividend of $0.42 per share, payable December 31 to shareholders of record on December 11. Cash and investments totaled $16.2 billion at quarter-end.

Management also said AI tools, direct traffic and loyalty programs were beginning to improve engagement and conversion. It reported that large-language-model referrals remained below 1% of room nights, though they were accelerating.