Booking Holdings Q1 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates

For the quarter ended March 2024, Booking Holdings BKNG reported revenue of $4.42 billion, up 16.9% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $20.39, compared to $11.60 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +3.87% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.25 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $14.03, the EPS surprise was +45.33%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how Booking Holdings performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Gross Bookings - Total: $43.50 billion compared to the $42.13 billion average estimate based on seven analysts.
• Gross Bookings - Agency: $17.80 billion versus $18.78 billion estimated by seven analysts on average.
• Gross Bookings - Merchant: $25.80 billion compared to the $23.35 billion average estimate based on seven analysts.
• Units Sold - Room Nights: 297 million versus 289.52 million estimated by six analysts on average.
• Units Sold - Airline Tickets: 11 million versus 9.88 million estimated by four analysts on average.
• Units Sold - Rental Car Days: 21 million versus 21.13 million estimated by four analysts on average.
• Revenues- Agency: $1.76 billion versus the seven-analyst average estimate of $1.78 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -1.1%.
• Revenues- Advertising and Other Revenues: $264 million compared to the $268.63 million average estimate based on seven analysts. The reported number represents a change of +8.2% year over year.
• Revenues- Merchant: $2.39 billion compared to the $2.20 billion average estimate based on seven analysts. The reported number represents a change of +36.3% year over year.

Shares of Booking Holdings have returned -6% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -4.2% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.