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Online travel agent Expedia ( EXPE ) saw its share rise early Thursday, after the company late Wednesday posted Q4 earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street expectations, but executives said currency would be less of a factor this year and that they’ve seen no impact, at least not yet, from the steep drop in global stock markets at the start of this year. And shares of rival TripAdvisor ( TRIP ) were up 14% after the company posted a Q4 earnings beat before the open. Ahead of Expedia’s earnings report, analysts were cautious on global macroeconomic concerns and competition with rivals Priceline ( PCLN ), TripAdvisor and privately held Airbnb. Expedia executives seemed to assuage some fears in comments on the company’s earnings conference call with analysts. Priceline stock was flat in early trading in the stock market today , as the broader market got off to another rough start on macroeconomic worries and falling oil prices. For Q4, Expedia said sales grew 29% to $1.7 billion, while earnings per share ex-items dropped 22% to 77 cents. The consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters called for $1.71 billion and $1 EPS ex items. In Q4, recently acquired Orbitz and HomeAway added $177 million and $20 million, respectively, to Expedia’s top line — which would have been $1.5 billion without them. Gross bookings rose 40%, in Q4, driven by a 28% increase from the company’s acquisitions. The strong dollar cost the company 5% of Q4 revenue growth and 9% of gross bookings growth, Expedia said. Expedia purchased HomeAway, which is focused on vacation rentals, in part because it’s a hedge against Airbnb, a firm that lets people rent out accommodations in their home to travelers. Private investors have valued Airbnb at over $20 billion — though as of late, mutual funds have been under fire for failing to properly value hot startups, such as ride-booking firm Uber and cloud storage provider Dropbox. Barclays analyst Paul Vogel said the Orbitz and HomeAway acquisitions would make it tough to estimate Expedia’s results. Expedia spent over $6 billion on those acquisitions. “There are a number of moving parts within Expedia that we believe have created an uncertain backdrop around forecasts and expectations,” Vogel wrote in a research note Tuesday. Priceline is set to report earnings Feb. 17 before the open. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News