Booking (BKNG) Delivers 15% Profit Growth Despite Middle East Disruptions

/ By / BKNG
Stock (Symbol)

Booking (BKNG)
Stock Price

$174
Sector
Retail & Travel
Data is as of
July 8, 2026
Expected to Report
August 4
Company Description
Booking Holdings (BKNG) bounces back from the COVID-19 slump, demonstrating a strong recovery.Booking Holdings Inc. is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services.

The Company offers its services through six consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, priceline.com, agoda.com, Rentalcars.com, KAYAK and OpenTable, Inc. (OpenTable).

Through the Company’s brands, consumers can: book a range of accommodations, including hotels, motels, resorts, homes, apartments, bed and breakfasts, hostels, and other properties; make a car rental reservation or arrange for an airport taxi; make a dinner reservation; book a flight, cruise, vacation package, tour or activity.

Consumers can also use its meta-search services to easily compare travel reservation information, such as airline ticket, hotel reservation, and rental car reservation information, from various online travel platforms at once.

Booking.com offers accommodation reservation services for approximately 2,373,000 properties in over 220 countries and territories, and in over 40 languages. Source: Refinitiv
Sharek’s Take
David SharekBooking Holdings (BKNG) delivered solid performance last quarter despite headwinds from the Middle East conflict, which caused travel disruptions and softer booking trends in affected markets, particularly toward the end of the quarter.However, it viewed the impact as a temporary headwind rather than a structural decline in travel demand, emphasizing that underlying consumer demand for travel remained resilient. The company delivered 15% profit growth on 16% revenue growth, which I feel is solid. Gross bookings increased 15%, another good number. Management estimates the conflict reduced room night and gross bookings growth by around 2%. Growth was supported by sustained global travel demand, higher gross bookings, growth in room nights. Performance remained strong across key markets, with the exception of the Rest of World segment, which includes the Middle East and declined by low single digits. Looking ahead, management expects the impact of the Middle East conflict to be higher next quarter, with a recovery anticipated in the second half of the year.

Booking is the world leader in online travel and related services. One of the best Internet acquisitions ever was when Priceline (PCLN) acquired Bookings BV in 2005, which got PCLN a piece of the underdeveloped European online travel industry. BKNG went on to become a catalyst in two years, from 2005 Q3 to 2007 Q3. In February 2018, PCLN formally changed its name (and stock symbol) to Booking Holdings (BKNG). The company’s service offerings include:

  • Booking.com: headquartered in the Netherlands, Booking.com is the world’s leading brand for online accommodations based on from nights booked.
  • RentalCars.com: operates as part of Booking offers online rental car reservations in over 52,000 locations, at the end of 2021. Rentalcars.com also offers pre-booked taxi and black car services in greater than 1600 airports.
  • Priceline.com: headquartered in Connecticut, Priceline provides online travel reservations primarily in North America which offers consumers hotel, rental car, and airline ticket reservation services, as well as vacation packages and cruises.
  • Agoda: based in Singapore, Agoda is an online accommodation reservation service for customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • KAYAK: provides an online price comparison service that allows consumers to search and compare travel itineraries and prices from hundreds of different travel platforms at once.
  • OpenTable: offers restaurant reservation services to consumers and reservation management services to restaurants, mainly in the United States. OpenTable’s AI voice bot can make reservations, ask questions and note dietary restrictions.
  • Getaroom: Getaroom is a B2B-focused distributor of hotel rooms, primarily servicing leisure demand through about 150 affiliate partners primarily in the North American market.

I’ve owned Booking (formerly Priceline) since 2006 and profits hit record highs every year up until 2019. In 2020, COVID-19 hampered travel world wide and profits went down. BKNG currently has an Estimated Long-Term Growth (Est. LTG) rate of 15%. Management repurchased $5.9 billion in stock during 2025 and paid $1.2 billion in dividends alongside $1.1 billion utilized to settle a conversion obligation. The stock is part of the Conservative Growth Portfolio.
One Year Chart
BKNG had been in a downtrend, but it seems like the shares have since bottomed and could move higher in the coming months. I like the look of this chart. Note these charts & tables were done 7/8 when the stock was $174. Today, 7/31, the shares are $195 and have broken out this week.

The P/E of 17 is good. The stock is undervalued. Last qtr the P/E was 16. My Fair Value is a P/E of 24.

The Est. LTG is 15%, down from 17% last quarter. I consider this company to be a mid-teens profit grower.

Estimates imply 11% profit growth in the upcoming quarter, followed by 14% growth in the subsequent quarter. Not bad. Last qtr’s estimate was 10% and BNKG delivered 15%.
Earnings Table
Last quarter, Booking delivered 15% profit growth and beat expectations of 10% growth. Revenue met estimates of 16% year over year. Total gross bookings grew 15%.

  • Alternative accommodation room nights grew 6% year on year.
  • Booking.com now has 8.8 million alternative accommodation listings, up 9% year over year.
  • Total merchant gross bookings surged 24% year over year.
  • The U.S. recorded low teens growth for the fourth consecutive quarter, driven primarily by domestic travel. Asia and Europe posted high single-digit and mid-single-digit growth, respectively. Meanwhile, the Rest of World segment, which includes the Middle East, declined by low single digits.
  • Booking experienced higher cancellation rates and a decline in bookings in March following the onset of the Middle East conflict.

In terms of units sold during the quarter:

  • Room Nights: +6%
  • Rental Car Days: -5%
  • Airline Tickets: +29%

Management estimates that the Middle East conflict reduced room night and gross bookings growth by approximately 2 percentage points.

Annual Profit Estimates are down this quarter. For 2026, management expects gross bookings to grow at a high single-digit to low double-digit rate, while revenue is projected to increase in the high single-digit range.

Quarterly Profit Estimates for the next 4 quarters are 11%, 14%, 20%, and 23% profit growth. Those far out estimates look great! Analysts believe BKNG revenue will climb 6% next quarter. Booking forecasts revenue and gross bookings growth of 4% to 6% next qtr.
Fair Value
Notice how low the P/E has been over the years. It was around 13 ten years ago. I’ve owned this stock for almost two decades, and the stock has gotten little respect during that time. The stock has recently gotten more respect, as in a higher P/E.

But wait, the P/E is down again. This qtr BKNG has a P/E of 17 and my Fair Value P/E is 24, which gives the stock ample upside for this year and next.
Bottom Line
Booking (BKNG) was once rapid growth stock that has since evolved into a Blue Chip stock. I originally bought the stock for investors in May 2006 $29, sold at $83 in March 2009 then jumped back in during May 2009 at $105 and have stuck with it since. The stock was in my Growth Portfolio for much of this time, then I moved it into the Conservative Portfolio when it seemed like profit growth was simmering down from the 15% range to the 12% range.

BNKG stock has solid upside here.

BKNG ranks 4th in the Conservative Growth Portfolio Power Rankings.
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