By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Expedia stock (NASDAQ:EXPE) climbed more than 15% Friday as business at its vacation-rental unit Vrbo boomed and the online travel group returned to profitability.
Expedia’s net income and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the quarter nearly matched the same pre-pandemic time. Vice Chairman and CEO Peter Kern said the current quarter is showing early positive signs with many countries announcing new openings to international travelers, “We are feeling increasingly confident about a continued recovery”.
Stayed room nights grew 59% compared to falling nearly as much in the third quarter last year. As a result, lodging revenue rose. Tariffs were also higher and so was the contribution of U.S. hotels in the revenue mix.
More flight tickets were sold. Revenue from advertising was also higher. Other revenue increased, driven by growth from both car and travel insurance products.
Gross bookings more than doubled to $18.7 billion. Revenue almost doubled to $2.96 billion.
Expedia follows rivals Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) and Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) in showing a recovery after more than a year of watching empty properties as few bookings happened and guests stayed away. As of the end of September, Airbnb’s backlog had more than 40% more nights booked for Thanksgiving week in the U.S. than in 2019 and “we are seeing the strong demand for travel extend well into 2022."
Adjusted profit per share of $3.53 left estimates well behind.