Booking Holdings Reports Financial Results for 1st Quarter 2024

NORWALK, CT – May 2, 2024. . . Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) (the "Company," "we," "our," or "us") today reported its first quarter 2024 financial results:

•Gross travel bookings, which refers to the total dollar value, generally inclusive of taxes and fees, of all travel services booked by our customers, net of cancellations, were $43.5 billion, an increase of 10% from the prior-year quarter.

•Room nights booked increased 9% from the prior-year quarter.

•Total revenues were $4.4 billion, an increase of 17% from the prior-year quarter.

•Net income was $776 million, an increase of 192% from the prior-year quarter.

•Net income per diluted common share (EPS) was $22.37, an increase of 220% from the prior-year quarter.

•Adjusted Net income was $708 million, an increase of 61% from the prior-year quarter.

•Adjusted Net income per diluted common share (Adjusted EPS) was $20.39, an increase of 76% from the prior-year quarter.

•Adjusted EBITDA was $898 million, an increase of 53% from the prior-year quarter.

The section below under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" provides definitions and information about the use of non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, including Adjusted Net income, Adjusted EPS and Adjusted EBITDA, and the attached financial and statistical supplement reconciles non-GAAP financial results with Booking Holdings' financial results under GAAP.

"We are pleased to report a strong start to 2024 with first quarter year-over-year growth in room nights of 9%, revenue of 17%, and operating income of 76%, all of which were ahead of our prior expectations," said Glenn Fogel, Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings. "As we continue our work to deliver a better planning, booking, and traveling experience for our travelers, we are seeing encouraging results at Booking.com with increasing direct mix, higher frequency, and more of our travelers moving into the upper Genius loyalty tiers."

Our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $8.75 per share, payable on June 28, 2024 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 7, 2024.

The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and include all normal and recurring adjustments that management of the Company considers necessary for a fair presentation of its financial position and operating results.

To supplement the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements, the Company uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted Net income (loss), Adjusted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA and Free cash flow (Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less capital expenditures). The presentation of non-GAAP financial information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.

The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision-making and as a basis to evaluate performance and set targets for employee compensation programs. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful for analysts and investors to evaluate the Company's ongoing operating performance because they facilitate comparison of the Company's results for the current period and projected next-period results to those of prior periods and to those of its competitors (though other companies may calculate similar non-GAAP financial measures differently from those calculated by the Company). These non-GAAP financial measures, in particular Adjusted Net income (loss), Adjusted EBITDA and Free cash flow, are not intended to represent funds available for Booking Holdings' discretionary use and are not intended to represent or to be used as a substitute for Operating income (loss), Net income (loss) or Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities as measured under GAAP. The items excluded from these non-GAAP measures, but included in the calculation of their closest GAAP equivalent, are significant components of the Company's consolidated statements of operations and cash flows and must be considered in performing a comprehensive assessment of overall financial performance.

Adjusted Net income (loss) is Net income (loss) with the following adjustments:

•excludes accruals related to the Netherlands pension fund matter (recorded during the year ended December 31, 2023),

•excludes accruals related to a draft decision by the Spanish competition authority,

•excludes accruals related to settlements of certain indirect tax matters,

•excludes the termination fee related to an acquisition agreement,

•excludes gains and losses on equity securities with readily determinable fair values,

•     excludes the impact, if any, of significant gains and losses on the sale of and impairment and credit losses on investments in available-for-sale debt securities and significant gains and losses on the sale of and impairment and other valuation adjustments on investments in equity securities without readily determinable fair values,

•excludes foreign currency transaction gains and losses on the remeasurement of Euro-denominated debt and accrued interest that are not designated as hedging instruments for accounting purposes and debt-related foreign currency derivative instruments used as economic hedges,

•excludes amortization expense of intangible assets,

•excludes interest received on tax payments refunded pursuant to settlement with authorities,

•excludes the impact of net unrecognized tax benefits related to certain income tax matters, and

•     the income tax impact of the non-GAAP adjustments mentioned above and changes in tax estimates, as applicable.

In the event the Company reports a GAAP Net income but an Adjusted Net loss, dilutive shares that are included in the GAAP weighted-average number of diluted common shares outstanding are excluded from the non-GAAP weighted-average number of diluted common shares outstanding. In the event the Company reports a GAAP Net loss but an Adjusted Net income, anti-dilutive shares that are excluded from the GAAP weighted-average number of diluted common shares outstanding are included in the non-GAAP weighted-average number of diluted common shares outstanding.

In addition to the adjustments listed above regarding Adjusted Net income (loss), Adjusted EBITDA excludes depreciation expense, interest expense, and to the extent not included in the adjustments listed above, interest and dividend income, and income tax expense (benefit).

We evaluate certain operating and financial measures on both an as-reported and constant-currency basis. We calculate constant currency based on the predominant transactional currency in each country, converting our current-year period results in currencies other than U.S. Dollars using the corresponding prior-year period monthly average exchange rates.

The attached financial and statistical supplement includes reconciliations of our financial results under GAAP to non-GAAP financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023. We are not able to provide a reconciliation between forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA and GAAP Net income (loss) because we cannot predict certain components of such reconciliation without unreasonable effort as they arise from events in future periods.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the views of the Company's management regarding current expectations based on currently available information about future events. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties, such as: adverse changes in market conditions for travel services; the effects of competition; the Company's ability to manage growth and expand; adverse changes in relationships with third parties on which the Company depends; success of the Company's marketing efforts; rapid technological and other market changes; the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; impacts of impairments and changes in accounting estimates; and other business and industry changes. Other risks and uncertainties relate to cyberattacks and information security; taxes; laws and regulations; the Company's facilitation of payments; foreign currency exchange rates; the Company's debt levels and stock price volatility; and the success of the Company's investments and acquisition strategy. For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, refer to the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

We will be posting our prepared remarks to the Booking Holdings investor relations website after the conclusion of the earnings call.

Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world's leading provider of online travel and related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 220 countries and territories through five primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable. The mission of Booking Holdings is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. For more information, visit BookingHoldings.com and follow us on X @BookingHoldings.

For Press Information: Leslie Cafferty communications@bookingholdings.com

For Investor Relations: John Longstreet ir@bookingholdings.com

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(In millions, except share and per share data) (1)

(1) Amounts may not total due to rounding.

Units Sold in millions and Gross Bookings and Total Revenues in billions(1)

 

(1)Amounts may not total due to rounding.

(2) Gross bookings is an operating and statistical metric that captures the total dollar value, generally inclusive of taxes and fees, of all travel services booked by our customers, net of cancellations.

(3) Year-over-year growth percentages for prior quarters presented on a constant currency basis have been recast to reflect the predominant transactional currency in each country.