Expedia Beats Third Quarter Estimates but Shares Fall on Soft Fourth Quarter Guidance

Expedia Group beat Wall Street estimates for the third quarter on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, then forecast fourth quarter revenue largely below expectations, and its shares fell about 6 percent in extended trade. The Seattle company is the parent of the Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo travel sites.

Third quarter revenue rose about 12 percent to $4.94 billion, ahead of the $4.74 billion analysts had forecast, Reuters reported. Adjusted profit was $9.39 per share, beating Wall Street estimates of $8.89 per share. Barron's reported expected adjusted earnings of $8.85 a share on revenue of $4.73 billion.

Chief executive Ariane Gorin said in comments reported by Barron's: "We exceeded the high end of our guidance in the quarter, reflecting resilient travel demand and strong execution."

Bookings and room nights beat forecasts

Booked room nights rose 7 percent in the third quarter from a year ago to 115.7 million, Barron's reported. Gross bookings increased 11 percent to $34.0 billion. Both figures were ahead of Wall Street expectations of 111.8 million room nights and $32.7 billion in gross bookings.

Third quarter revenue growth was driven by a 23 percent increase in Expedia's business-to-business segment, Barron's reported.

Why the shares fell after a beat

The drop came after the close and after a strong regular session. Shares had closed up 10.5 percent at $315.88 in regular trading on Wednesday, then fell more than 6 percent in late trading after the fourth quarter forecast, according to Reuters and Barron's.

For the fourth quarter, Expedia expects gross bookings of $27.9 billion to $28.4 billion, up 3.3 percent to 5.2 percent, and revenue of $3.69 billion to $3.75 billion, up 4 percent to 5.7 percent, Barron's reported. The midpoint of the revenue range sits below analysts' estimates of $3.74 billion, Reuters reported.

Gorin pinned the moderation in the fourth quarter forecast on the US midterm elections and unrest in the Middle East and Europe, in comments to Reuters. Those comments are the company's own explanation for the softer outlook, and they were given at the same time as the raised full year forecast.

Full year forecast raised

Expedia raised its full year gross bookings forecast to $131.4 billion to $131.9 billion, from $129.5 billion to $130.8 billion earlier, Reuters reported. It now expects annual revenue of $16.37 billion to $16.43 billion, compared with $16.05 billion to $16.22 billion previously.

The result is therefore two stories in one release. The third quarter beat on revenue, profit, room nights and gross bookings, and the full year forecast went up. The fourth quarter revenue guide came in largely below Wall Street expectations, and investors in extended trade focused on that guide, sending the shares down about 6 percent after a 10.5 percent rise in the regular session.