Priceline Rises 3% After Q3 Earnings Beat

is up more than three percent in after hours trading after reporting its third quarter results. The company's Q3 EPS arrived at $17.33 versus the Street estimate of $16.21. Earnings per share were up 40 percent from the year-ago period. "The Priceline Group finished the summer travel season with strong growth and operating performance," Jeffery H. Boyd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Priceline, said in a

. "Booking.com and Agoda posted solid third quarter results leading to 36% room night growth for the Group, and the U.S. business of priceline.com showed positive momentum with accelerating bookings growth. "Our brands are performing well in a very competitive environment. We believe the Group is well positioned to drive future growth through investments in geographic expansion, supply and content, product and marketing." Priceline also announced that Darren Huston has been promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer. Boyd (who has served as the company's President and CEO since 2002) will remain as Chairman. Huston will also join the board. Both his promotion and appointment will be effective starting January 1, 2014. "Darren has done a great job leading Booking.com, the Group's largest business, delivering impressive growth and share gains," Boyd said in

. "Darren is the right choice to lead the Group and I look forward to working with him closely as Chairman of the Board." "We look forward to working closely with Jeff as he continues as Chairman of The Priceline Group's Board of Directors," James M. Guyette, Lead Independent Director of Priceline's Board of Directors, added. "Jeff has done an outstanding job leading The Priceline Group over the past eleven years and we are pleased to announce Darren's appointment as part of our long-term succession planning." In addition to these announcements, Priceline said that it expects its fourth quarter EPS to fall within the $7.80 to $8.30 range versus the Street estimate of $8.34. Year-to-date, shares of Priceline are up more than 65 percent. Disclosure: