Booking Holdings Inc is often considered to be one of the best travel stocks to buy 2020. It owns iconic brands like Agoda, Priceline, Booking.com, Kayak, Rentalcars, and OpenTable. Many of these brands are leaders in the online travel agency segment. Besides Booking, Expedia is the other dominant business in the online travel segment. Both companies have witnessed difficult times as the pandemic has taken a toll on the travel and tourism industry. However, the innate desire for people to travel is something that is expected to drive businesses like Booking Holdings out of the pandemic-led slump.
The Recent Performance Of Booking Holdings
On 6th November 2020, Booking Holdings held its earnings conference for the third quarter of 2020. Total revenues for the company dropped from $5 billion in the third quarter of 2019 to $2.64 billion. Operating income fell from $2.37 billion in Q32019 to $315 million in 3Q2020. Net income per diluted share came in at $19.49 as compared to $45.54 in the third quarter of 2019. Clearly, net income has more than halved as the pandemic has taken a toll on Booking’s business.
According to David Goulden, CFO, Booking Holdings, “Our Q3 ending cash and investments balance increased to $14.9 billion while June ending balance was $13.4 billion due to positive operating cash flow as well as the unrealized gain on our long-term investments. We generated $920 million of operating cash flow and $848 million of free cash flow in the quarter, both down approximately 50% versus the prior year.”
Stock Performances Of The Best Travel Stocks To Buy 2020
Booking Holdings stock is down 14% year-to-date and up 54% since the March market crash. Expedia is down 7% year-to-date and up a staggering 126% since the March market fall. Essentially, Expedia has more than doubled since March. Meanwhile, Airbnb is planning to file for an IPO in the coming weeks.
