Booking Holdings (BKNG) Earnings Show a $900 Million FTC Revenue Cut
Booking Holdings (BKNG) earnings show third quarter 2026 revenue down 1% to $8.9 billion, after a $900 million cut tied to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) matter. Booking says pricier flights and the Middle East conflict held back travel demand in October, and it expects its slowest room night growth since early 2021. Without the FTC cut, revenue grew 9%.
The short answer. Leave out the FTC cut, and the quarter beat every forecast Booking gave for it in August. The outlook is weaker. Booking expects room nights to grow just 1% to 3% from October to December, the slowest pace since early 2021. The shares were down 1.7% in after-hours trading at 4:49 p.m. ET. The release does not name the FTC matter. Booking's August report said FTC staff intend to recommend a complaint against Priceline over fees, billing and customer support. That may or may not be the same matter.
Show the data
| Step | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue, Q3 2025 | $9.0B |
| Growth | +$0.8B |
| FTC cut | -$0.9B |
| Revenue, Q3 2026 | $8.9B |
Booking Holdings third quarter 2026 results at a glance
On this page
- Booking Holdings (BKNG) earnings for the third quarter of 2026
- Booking results against its August forecast
- The FTC matter behind the $900 million revenue cut
- What the Booking Holdings FTC matter means for travelers
- Why Booking says travel demand softened
- Booking guidance for the fourth quarter and 2026
- Booking dividend and share buybacks
- Frequently asked questions
Every company reporting the same week, with its date and time, is in StockTitan's Earnings Calendar for the Week of November 2, 2026.
Booking Holdings (BKNG) earnings for the third quarter of 2026
Travelers booked more through Booking's sites, but reported revenue fell because of the FTC cut. Without that cut, revenue grew 9%.
Booking sold 345 million room nights from July to September 2026, up 7% from a year earlier. A room night is one night in one hotel room or rental home.
Gross bookings, the total value of travel booked through its sites, rose 10% to $54.5 billion. Flight tickets sold grew faster, by 19.4%.
Revenue fell 1% to $8.9 billion. The drop comes from one line in the accounts, a $900 million reduction tied to the FTC matter.
Adjusted revenue, which leaves that line out, rose 9% to $9.8 billion.
Net income slipped 1% to $2.7 billion. Earnings per share still rose 7%, to $3.61, because there were fewer shares.
The average number of shares fell 7.5%, to 753 million from 814 million a year earlier, as Booking kept buying back its stock.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 17% to $4.66, from $3.98. That figure leaves out the FTC matter and other items Booking does not count as part of normal business.
Chief executive Glenn Fogel credited demand and his teams for the quarter. He said "resilient travel demand and disciplined execution by our teams drove double-digit gross bookings growth, margin expansion, and 17% adjusted earnings per share growth."
| Measure | Q3 2025 | Q3 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room nights | 323 million | 345 million | 7% |
| Gross bookings | $49.7 billion | $54.5 billion | 10% |
| Revenue | $9,008 million | $8,893 million | (1)% |
| Adjusted revenue | $9,008 million | $9,793 million | 9% |
| Net income | $2,748 million | $2,717 million | (1)% |
| Adjusted net income | $3,240 million | $3,509 million | 8% |
| Diluted earnings per share | $3.38 | $3.61 | 7% |
| Adjusted earnings per share | $3.98 | $4.66 | 17% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $4,231 million | $4,607 million | 9% |
| Free cash flow | $1,371 million | $1,069 million | (22)% |
| Flight tickets | 17 million | 21 million | 19.4% |
| Rental car days | 23 million | 23 million | (0.7)% |
Source: Booking Holdings third quarter 2026 earnings release, November 3, 2026. Per share figures reflect the 25-for-1 stock split of April 2, 2026. Adjusted figures exclude the FTC matter and the other items in the release's reconciliation tables.
Booking Holdings stock closed the regular session at $155.67 on November 3, 2026. In after-hours trading, it was at $153.00 at 4:49 p.m. ET, down 1.7%.
Booking results against its August forecast
Leave out the FTC cut, and every measure grew faster than the top of Booking's own range. Room nights grew 7%, while Booking had forecast at most 5%.
In its second quarter release of August 4, 2026, Booking forecast growth from July to September. It expected room nights to grow 3% to 5%. It expected gross bookings, revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow 4% to 6% each. Adjusted EBITDA is a profit measure that leaves out interest, taxes, depreciation and some other items.
The results came in higher. Gross bookings grew 10%, and adjusted EBITDA grew 9%.
Revenue is the one miss, and only because of the FTC cut. Reported revenue fell 1%. Before the cut, it grew 9%.
The August forecast already allowed for some trouble. It assumed that high flight prices, fewer flights on some routes and weaker demand for long trips abroad would last through September.
Show the data
| Item | Low | High | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room nights | 3% | 5% | 7% |
| Gross bookings | 4% | 6% | 10% |
| Revenue before cut | 4% | 6% | 9% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 4% | 6% | 9% |
The FTC matter behind the $900 million revenue cut
The release does not name the FTC matter. In Booking's August report, FTC staff intend to recommend a complaint against its Priceline brand over fees and billing. It may or may not be the same matter.
Booking says it recorded a reduction in revenue of $900 million and accrued a loss of $100 million related to an FTC matter. An accrued loss is a loss recorded in the accounts before it is paid.
The $100 million sits in general and administrative costs. Booking adds the full $1 billion back when it works out its adjusted profit, so the adjusted figures do not show the hit.
For details, the release points to note 13 of Booking's quarterly report, the Form 10-Q, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. That report was not yet on the SEC's EDGAR site at 4:50 p.m. ET on November 3, 2026.
Note 13 of the previous 10-Q, filed on August 4, 2026, describes one FTC matter. In July 2026, FTC staff told Priceline they intend to recommend that the FTC file a complaint against Priceline and one of its business partners.
The staff assert unfair or deceptive business practices related to disclosures, fees, customer support and billing. In that report, Priceline said it did not agree with the FTC's position and was in talks to resolve the matter.
What the Booking Holdings FTC matter means for travelers
Nothing published so far says whether customers get money back or what changes on Booking's sites. The release points to note 13 of the new 10-Q for details.
The release also does not say whether there is a settlement. Booking says gross bookings, the value of travel its customers booked, do not reflect the FTC matter.
The August report described what the Priceline matter could lead to. Priceline could agree to commitments to change its business practices, and Booking could face damages or penalties that harm its business and reputation.
The same report lists earlier voluntary commitments Booking made during reviews by competition and other authorities. They covered showing prices with all mandatory taxes and charges included, and how discounts and claims about popularity or availability are shown. The report does not link them to the FTC matter.
Why Booking says travel demand softened
Trips abroad slowed toward the end of the quarter, while trips at home held up. In October, conflict in the Middle East and pricier flights weighed on demand.
In its outlook, Booking says "global travel demand moderated somewhat toward the end of the third quarter, reflecting softer international travel trends, while domestic travel has remained resilient."
October brought more trouble. Booking names disruptions to travel to and from the Middle East, the conflict's wider effects such as elevated airfares, and localized unrest in certain European cities.
Booking's forecast assumes that both the direct and indirect effects of the Middle East conflict last through the end of the year.
Fogel struck a careful note. "While geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty may affect near-term travel trends, we remain focused on making travel easier, helping our partners succeed, and investing in our business for the long term," he said.
Booking guidance for the fourth quarter and 2026
Booking expects growth to slow from October to December. It sees room nights up just 1% to 3% from a year earlier, the slowest pace since early 2021.
For the fourth quarter, Booking expects room nights to grow 1% to 3% and gross bookings to grow 2% to 4%.
That works out to about 288 million to 294 million room nights, against 285 million a year earlier.
That would be a sharp turn. Room nights have grown at least 5.3% in every quarter since April 2021. The last slower quarter was January to March 2021, during the pandemic, when room nights fell 20% from a year earlier, according to Booking's fourth quarter 2022 release.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Q2 2023 | 8.8% |
| Q3 2023 | 14.9% |
| Q4 2023 | 9.2% |
| Q1 2024 | 8.5% |
| Q2 2024 | 7.1% |
| Q3 2024 | 8.1% |
| Q4 2024 | 13.2% |
| Q1 2025 | 7.2% |
| Q2 2025 | 7.7% |
| Q3 2025 | 8.2% |
| Q4 2025 | 9.0% |
| Q1 2026 | 5.9% |
| Q2 2026 | 5.3% |
| Q3 2026 | 6.7% |
| Q4 2026 | 2.0% |
It expects adjusted revenue to grow 0% to 2%, which includes a drag of about 2% from exchange rates. It sees adjusted EBITDA about flat.
For the full year 2026, Booking expects gross bookings, adjusted revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at a high single digit rate. It sees adjusted earnings per share growing at a low to mid-teens rate. Those match the full year ranges it gave in August, though its revenue range now leaves out the FTC cut.
| Measure, growth from a year earlier | Q4 2026 forecast | Full year 2026 forecast |
|---|---|---|
| Room nights | 1% to 3% | Not given |
| Gross bookings | 2% to 4% | High single digits |
| Gross bookings, constant currency | 4% to 6% | High single digits |
| Adjusted revenue | 0% to 2% | High single digits |
| Adjusted revenue, constant currency | 2% to 4% | High single digits |
| Adjusted EBITDA | About flat | High single digits |
| Adjusted earnings per share | Not given | Low to mid-teens |
Source: Booking Holdings third quarter 2026 earnings release, November 3, 2026. Constant currency means at the prior year's exchange rates. Adjusted revenue growth includes a negative effect of about 2% from exchange rates in Q4 2026 and a benefit of about 0.5% for the full year.
Booking dividend and share buybacks
Booking will pay a dividend of 42 cents a share at the end of December. It also kept buying back its own stock.
The board declared a cash dividend of $0.42 per share, payable on December 31, 2026, to holders of record at the close of business on December 11, 2026.
Booking bought back $2.1 billion of its stock in the quarter, not counting excise taxes. It had $12.4 billion left under its buyback authorization at the end of September.
Booking also carried about $20.1 billion of debt at September 30, 2026, against $15.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents. So it owed more than it held in cash.
What to watch
- What the FTC matter is and whether customers get money back: note 13 of Booking's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, on SEC EDGAR.
- Whether the Middle East disruption and high airfares fade: Booking's fourth quarter 2026 results, its next quarterly report.
Our numbers
These figures are our calculations from the sources linked in this article.
- Slowest room night growth since early 2021: in Booking's statistical tables, each quarter since April 2021 grew at least 5.3%, against the 1% to 3% it now forecasts
- About 288 million to 294 million room nights for October to December 2026: the 285 million of a year earlier, grown by the 1% to 3% Booking forecasts
- $0.8 billion of revenue growth before the FTC cut: adjusted revenue of $9,793 million minus revenue of $9,008 million a year earlier
- 7.5% fewer shares: 753 million average diluted shares in the quarter against 814 million a year earlier
- About $20.1 billion of debt: short-term debt of $1,987 million plus long-term debt of $18,074 million on the September 30, 2026 balance sheet
- 2% for the forecast bar in the room night chart: the midpoint of Booking's 1% to 3% range
Frequently asked questions
What did Booking Holdings report for the third quarter of 2026?
Revenue fell 1% to $8.9 billion after a $900 million reduction tied to an FTC matter. Adjusted revenue rose 9% to $9.8 billion, and adjusted earnings per share rose 17% to $4.66.
What is the Priceline FTC matter?
Booking's August 10-Q says FTC staff told Priceline in July 2026 they intend to recommend a complaint against Priceline and one of its business partners. The issues are disclosures, fees, customer support and billing. The November 3 release does not say whether its FTC matter is the same one.
What is Booking's outlook for the fourth quarter of 2026?
Booking expects room nights to grow 1% to 3% and gross bookings 2% to 4% from a year earlier. It expects adjusted EBITDA to be about flat.
Did Booking Holdings beat its own forecast?
Yes, leaving out the FTC cut. Room nights grew 7% against an August forecast of 3% to 5%, and gross bookings grew 10% against 4% to 6%. Reported revenue fell 1%, against a forecast of 4% to 6% growth.
When was the Booking Holdings earnings call?
Booking set its call for 4:30 p.m. ET on November 3, 2026, with a webcast at ir.bookingholdings.com. Its October 6 announcement says the audio stays there for replay for seven days.
When is the next Booking Holdings dividend paid?
Booking will pay $0.42 per share on December 31, 2026, to holders of record on December 11, 2026.
Sources
- Booking Holdings Form 8-K, November 3, 2026, StockTitan
- Booking Holdings third quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, SEC
- Booking Holdings Form 8-K, November 3, 2026, SEC
- Booking Holdings Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, note 13, SEC
- Booking Holdings second quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, August 4, 2026, SEC
- Booking Holdings fourth quarter 2024 earnings release, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, SEC
- Booking Holdings fourth quarter 2022 earnings release, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, SEC
- Booking Holdings to Webcast Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results on November 3, StockTitan
- Booking Holdings (BKNG) stock price, StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data
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