Expedia Raises 2026 Outlook as Q3 Revenue Rises 12%

Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) increased its full-year 2026 guidance after third-quarter revenue rose 12% and adjusted EBITDA climbed 17%, supported by strong B2B growth, higher travel volumes and wider margins. The company said it exceeded its top- and bottom-line guidance for the quarter.

Gross bookings increased 11% year over year to $34.0 billion, while revenue reached $4.9 billion, up from $4.4 billion. Booked room nights grew 7% to 115.7 million, and booked average daily rate rose 2% to $215. Expedia attributed gross bookings growth to higher room-night volumes, average daily rates and air ticket prices, while revenue benefited from higher volume and foreign exchange.

Adjusted EBITDA rose to $1.69 billion from $1.45 billion, lifting the adjusted EBITDA margin by 135 basis points to 34.2%. Adjusted earnings per share increased 24% to $9.39. The company said margin expansion reflected revenue growth, greater efficiency in B2C marketing and disciplined overhead spending. Adjusted EPS grew faster than adjusted EBITDA partly because of accretive share repurchases.

B2B growth outpaces consumer segment

The B2B segment remained the faster-growing business. B2B gross bookings rose 19% to $11.1 billion, while revenue increased 23% to $1.7 billion. Expedia said the gains reflected continued double-digit growth across all regions and elevated marketing activity by some of its largest partners. Revenue growth exceeded bookings growth because of higher lodging volume and favorable foreign-exchange effects.

B2B adjusted EBITDA margin declined to 27.5% from 28.9%, however, as partner mix and acquisition consolidation weighed on profitability.

In B2C, gross bookings increased 7% to $22.9 billion and revenue rose 6% to $3.1 billion. The segment’s adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 43.5% from 40.7%, helped by marketing efficiency, improved returns across channels and overhead discipline. Expedia said B2C bookings and revenue continued to benefit from strength in the U.S., while higher air ticket prices caused bookings growth to outpace revenue growth.

Room-night growth was geographically broad but strongest outside the company’s larger U.S. and European markets. Booked room nights rose by a mid-single-digit percentage in the U.S., a low-single-digit percentage in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and a mid-teens percentage across the rest of the world.

Full-year outlook increased

For full-year 2026, Expedia now expects gross bookings of $131.4 billion to $131.9 billion, representing approximately 10% growth. Revenue is projected at $16.37 billion to $16.43 billion, up 11% to 12%, with adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 1.8 to 2.0 percentage points.

Fourth-quarter gross bookings are expected to range from $27.9 billion to $28.4 billion, equivalent to year-over-year growth of 3.3% to 5.2%. Revenue is forecast at $3.69 billion to $3.75 billion, up 4.0% to 5.7%, while adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $830 million and $880 million. The forecasts include foreign-exchange effects.

Trailing-12-month free cash flow was $3.7 billion at the end of the quarter. As of September 30, Expedia held $5.6 billion in unrestricted cash and short-term investments. Over the trailing 12 months, it returned about $1.9 billion through $1.7 billion of share repurchases and $0.2 billion of dividends.

The outlook remains subject to risks including intense competition from travel platforms and emerging AI-powered services, changes in economic or geopolitical conditions, dependence on travel suppliers and B2B partners, foreign-exchange exposure, higher traffic-acquisition costs, regulatory changes, cybersecurity threats and execution risks tied to strategic and operational initiatives.