Booking Holdings Inc.

Overview Key strengths Key risks Material scale with good brand awareness. Weakening global economic growth prospects and a stronger U.S. dollar could slow revenue growth. Significant financial resources with a sizeable cash position. Elevated share repurchase activity could deplete cash surplus. Leading market position globally, particularly in Europe. Google algorithm changes could cause temporary increases in direct marketing costs. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2022, Booking's revenues were 11% above the same period in 2019. Peers such as Airbnb Inc. and Expedia Group Inc. also exhibited solid recovery, suggesting that leisure travel has largely recovered following a slowdown during the winter of 2020-2021. This comes despite concerns stemming from potential new COVID-19 variants that could add volatility to

...Booking Holdings Inc.'s operating performance was well above expectations amid a largely recovered leisure travel industry, but growth could slow next year. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2022, Booking's revenues were 11% above the same period in 2019. Peers such as Airbnb Inc. and Expedia Group Inc. also exhibited solid recovery, suggesting that leisure travel has largely recovered following a slowdown during the winter of 2020-2021. This comes despite concerns stemming from potential new COVID- 19 variants that could add volatility to travel demand and a weakening economic outlook. We expect demand will continue to strengthen because of a combination of pent-up demand for travel, moderating fears of contracting COVID-19, broader availability of vaccines and treatment options globally, and fewer international travel restrictions. The pace of recovery in travel varies across...

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