Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) stock — is it a good business?

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) stock — is it a good business? — InspectStocks

Just reported

Q3 2026 results

From Booking's results release of November 3, 2026; its quarterly report has since been filed.

Revenue
Actual
$8.89B
-1.3% y/y
+21% q/q
Guided
—
No guide given
EPS, GAAP
Actual
$3.61
+6.8% y/y
+43% q/q
Guided
—
No guide given
Operating income, GAAP
Actual
$3.42B
-1.9% y/y
+37% q/q
Guided
—
No guide given

Set against the company's own guidance and the same quarter a year earlier, not analysts' estimates, which we do not hold. Adjusted figures are the company's own non-GAAP measures, as stated in the release.

The full earnings report →

How it makes money

Merchant travel bookings66%
Agency travel bookings30%
Advertising, restaurant services and other revenue4%

Shares of revenue are estimates for year ended December 31, 2025, not figures from a filing.

Competes with

What it sells5

Booking.com
A travel booking service for accommodation, flights, rental cars, activities and ground transportation. It lists hotels as well as homes, apartments and other places to stay.
Priceline
A travel booking service, focused mainly on North America, for accommodation, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, cruises and activities.
Agoda
A travel booking service used mainly by customers in Asia-Pacific, for accommodation, flights, ground transportation and attractions.

Show 2 more

KAYAK
A travel search service that compares itineraries and prices from many travel websites.
OpenTable
A restaurant reservation service for diners and a reservation-management service for restaurants.

Who buys it5

Travelers book accommodation, flights, rental cars, activities and ground transportation through the company’s websites and apps.
Hotels, property owners and other accommodation providers list rooms or properties and pay commissions or transaction-related charges when bookings are made.
Airlines, car-rental companies and activity or transportation providers use the booking services to reach travelers and sell available inventory.

Show 2 more

Restaurants use OpenTable to receive reservations and may pay subscription fees for reservation-management services.
Banks, airlines, corporate travel companies and other businesses can obtain travel inventory through the company’s business-to-business services.

What it stands on, and what could break it

What the business leans on

1The booking services depend on hotels, property owners, airlines, car-rental companies, restaurants and other providers supplying inventory and honoring reservations.
2The company buys substantial performance-marketing traffic through online search engines, primarily Google, and reports pressure on unpaid search traffic.
3Merchant bookings rely on payment processing and other outside services; handling more payments also brings processing costs, chargebacks and fraud exposure.
4The business operates under changing travel, privacy, consumer-protection, competition and payment rules across many countries.

What could go wrong

1Travel disruptions can reduce bookings or change where and how people travel. The company reported that the conflict in the Middle East affected long-haul demand, flight capacity, prices and cancellations during the second quarter of 2026.
2Competition from travel-booking services, travel providers, search companies and artificial-intelligence travel tools may draw away customers or require discounts and higher marketing spending.
3Changing laws and regulatory scrutiny can require changes to the company’s services and increase compliance costs; Booking Holdings is subject to additional European requirements under the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act.

Full financial statements →

About Booking Holdings Inc.

Its five main brands are Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable. Travelers use them to find and book trips; hotels, other travel providers and restaurants use them to reach customers or manage reservations. The company tracks room nights, rental-car days and flight tickets booked; year over year, these changed by 5.3% (three months ended June 30, 2026, high), -6.5% (three months ended June 30, 2026, high) and 3.7% (three months ended June 30, 2026, high), respectively.

Head office: Norwalk, Connecticut
Founded: 1997 (as Priceline.com)
Employees: 25,550 (June 30, 2026, high)
Listed on: NASDAQ Global Select Market
Financial year ends: December 31

Built from Booking Holdings Inc.’s own filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Figures are as reported, with per-share history restated onto today’s share basis. This describes a business — it is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.

Just reported

Q3 2026 results

From Booking's results release of November 3, 2026; its quarterly report has since been filed.

Revenue
Actual
$8.89B
-1.3% y/y
+21% q/q
Guided
—
No guide given
EPS, GAAP
Actual
$3.61
+6.8% y/y
+43% q/q
Guided
—
No guide given
Operating income, GAAP
Actual
$3.42B
-1.9% y/y
+37% q/q
Guided
—
No guide given

The full earnings report →

Keep exploring

The themes Booking is part of, the highest-graded companies in its industry, and the companies in its sector whose grade rose recently.

The theme it is part of

Highest-graded in Travel Services

Graded A or B and worth $2B or more: A first, then the largest.

All 18 graded companies in its industry

Grade rose recently in Consumer Discretionary

Rose to A or B on a filing in the last 90 days, worth $2B or more: largest first.

All grade rises

How it makes money

Merchant travel bookings66%
Agency travel bookings30%
Advertising, restaurant services and other revenue4%

Shares of revenue are estimates for year ended December 31, 2025, not figures from a filing.

Competes with

What it sells5

Booking.com
A travel booking service for accommodation, flights, rental cars, activities and ground transportation. It lists hotels as well as homes, apartments and other places to stay.
Priceline
A travel booking service, focused mainly on North America, for accommodation, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, cruises and activities.
Agoda
A travel booking service used mainly by customers in Asia-Pacific, for accommodation, flights, ground transportation and attractions.

Show 2 more

KAYAK
A travel search service that compares itineraries and prices from many travel websites.
OpenTable
A restaurant reservation service for diners and a reservation-management service for restaurants.

Who buys it5

Travelers book accommodation, flights, rental cars, activities and ground transportation through the company’s websites and apps.
Hotels, property owners and other accommodation providers list rooms or properties and pay commissions or transaction-related charges when bookings are made.
Airlines, car-rental companies and activity or transportation providers use the booking services to reach travelers and sell available inventory.

Show 2 more

Restaurants use OpenTable to receive reservations and may pay subscription fees for reservation-management services.
Banks, airlines, corporate travel companies and other businesses can obtain travel inventory through the company’s business-to-business services.