Booking Holdings is the IBD Stock of the Day for Friday. Shares of the online travel booking company are approaching a flat base buy point on a strong day for travel stocks.
Booking Holdings is the parent company of Booking.com, Priceline and OpenTable, among other brands. Booking stock is ahead 16% this year.
On the stock market today, shares of the online travel company gained a fraction to close at 5,720.87. That puts Booking stock not far from a 5,839.41 flat base buy point, according to IBD MarketSurge.
Shares for the travel company have gained for five consecutive days, overtaking Booking stock's 21-day and 50-day moving averages. Booking is ahead 5% overall this week. That move signals stronger investor confidence in the broader travel category.
That continued Friday, which was a strong day for stocks overall following remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Booking Holdings' online travel rivals Expedia Group and Airbnb were each up more than 2% in recent action. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines led a strong day among airline stocks.
Booking Holdings Q2 Results
Meanwhile, Booking Holdings reported stronger-than-expected sales growth and earnings for its June-ended quarter on July 29. But Booking shares fell immediately following the report, as the company's sales guidance for the current quarter was slightly below expectations. That downward trend continued into mid-August, before Booking stock bounced back in recent trading.
There is still uncertainty about the broader travel market, particularly in the U.S. Airlines have flagged an increase in last-minute travel bookings.
Still, Airbnb said in its recent earnings release that demand picked up late in the second quarter, with a strong start to the summer season. Expedia's results also beat expectations but its sales growth was carried by gains for its business-to-business services offerings.
Booking Holdings is less exposed to shifts in U.S. demand. It derives the majority of its revenue from Europe.
The company is a favorite on Wall Street for its steady earnings growth. It has a buy rating from 67% of the 39 analysts that cover Booking stock, according to FactSet.
"Booking Holdings remains the highest quality online travel stock," Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney wrote to clients following the company's Q2 results. "Largest scale. Fastest growth. Very High Margin. Super experienced management team."
Following its Q2 report, Booking Holdings raised its full-year guidance. The company said it expects gross bookings value to grow a high-single-digit percentage, compared to previous guidance for mid- to high-single-digit percentage growth.
"While we recognize there is still elevated uncertainty in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, we are pleased to see that global travel demand trends continue to be steady so far in the third quarter," Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen told analysts on a July 29 conference call.
Booking Stock 2025 Growth Projections
While the company is no longer posting the huge growth that followed the pandemic lockdowns — a phenomenon that was dubbed "revenge travel" — Booking Holdings is still growing at a steady pace. It has averaged 28% earnings growth over its past three quarters. Analysts project adjusted earnings will increase 19% this year, according to FactSet.
Sales, meanwhile, are projected to rise 11% to $26.36 billion for the full year, according to FactSet. That's compared to 11% growth in 2024, 25% growth in 2023 and 56% growth in 2022.
Booking stock has an IBD Composite Rating of 94 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The score combines five separate proprietary ratings into one rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
The score makes Booking Holdings the top rated stock in the Leisure-Travel Booking group tracked by IBD. Expedia is second.
Further, Booking's IBD Relative Strength Rating is 83 out of 99. That's down from 90 three months ago but up a tick from the 80 score last week.
