Expedia soars as travel demand fuels big Q3 beat and price target hikes across Wall Street

Shares of Expedia leapt in early trading Friday after the travel platform posted a strong third quarter.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $7.57, surpassing the consensus estimate of roughly $6.98. Meanwhile, revenue climbed to $4.41 billion, also topping forecasts and driven by strong room-night growth in the US and Asia. 

“Our strong third quarter results exceeded both our top- and bottom-line expectations, reflecting an improved demand environment, disciplined execution and tangible progress on our strategic priorities,” CEO Ariane Gorin said in a statement. “Notably, US room-night growth hit its fastest pace in over three years, we posted our 17th consecutive quarter of double-digit B2B growth — and consumer bookings grew 7%.” 

For the full year, Expedia now expects revenue growth of 6% to 7%, up from its previous estimate of 3% to 5%. Wall Street welcomed the results:

• Evercore ISI maintained its “outperform” rating and lifted its target to $350 from $280.

• Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to “neutral” and hiked its target to $250 from $190.

• Wells Fargo maintained its “equal weight” rating and raised its price target to $272 from $212.

• UBS kept its “neutral” rating and raised its target to $234 from $209.

• Truist reiterated its “hold” rating and increased its target to $210 from $168.