Booking Holdings Inc.

The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Booking will grow revenues at about 3% in 2019 and in the 5%-7.5% range in 2020 with negligible debt leverage. We expect the company will maintain its leadership position in the global online travel agency industry and grow its alternative accommodation portfolio and advertising business. We could lower our ratings if the company adopts a more aggressive financial policy, and net leverage approaches 1.5x. This could occur if Booking depletes its cash balance or takes on sizeable additional debt to fund share repurchases, acquisitions, or product development. We believe this would most likely occur if coupled with a slowdown in growth due to an economic downturn or lost market share, especially in its

...Booking's scale and brand awareness have resulted in a leading market position and a defensible business model. Booking is the largest global online travel agency (OTA) by revenue with $14.5 billion in sales in 2018 generated from $92.7 billion in gross bookings. Its six brands provide a good balance between metasearch (customers at in the early stages of the buying process), bookings, and travel information. We believe the company's solid track record of attracting customers and hotel partners provides it with significant operating scale to defend and grow its market position. It has the leading market position in European hotel reservation services, especially in secondary and tertiary markets, and a growing market share within the global travel industry. It also has a growing presence in Asia and North America and is expanding its service offerings into alternative rentals, tours and travel experiences, rental cars, and restaurant reservations globally. Booking has financial flexibility...

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