Expedia (EXPE) stock was down 8% in after-hours trading Thursday after the online travel agency issued Q4 earnings that missed analyst forecasts due to adverse currency trends, large investments and EBITDA losses at the company’s eLong China travel unit. “Our Q4 results were negatively impacted by currency trends,” Expedia CFO Mark Okerstrom said in an earnings conference call with analysts. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on the call that
Expedia’s purchase of Travelocity from Sabre for $280 million in cash last month represents a final exchange of wedding vows in what’s been a successful partnership between two online travel pioneers. The merger solidifies Expedia’s (EXPE) position in online travel, where it’s No. 1 in U.S. gross travel bookings but faces pitched competition from Priceline (PCLN). Priceline leads in overseas bookings and is allied with China’s Ctrip.com
Most analysts expect Expedia (EXPE) to report solid results driven by hotel bookings and deals from its marketing agreement with Travelocity when it reports fourth-quarter earnings after the close Thursday. The consensus estimate of 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for the Bellevue, Wash.-based online travel agency to post earnings per share excluding items of $1.02, up 11% from 92 cents in the year-earlier quarter, on revenue of $1.37