Expedia stepped into this quarter with something more than just healthy numbers—it showed momentum. The company reported 12% year-on-year growth in gross bookings and 9% revenue growth, both ahead of prior guidance. What stands out is how broad-based the demand recovery appears, especially in the U.S., where room night growth reached its fastest pace in more than three years. For a company that has at times struggled to keep pace with Airbnb’s brand appeal and Booking’s global efficiency, this quarter felt like Expedia leaning back into its strengths rather than playing defense.
The B2B segment is the clearest engine here. Bookings from partners—hotels, airlines, travel agencies, loyalty programs—grew 26% year-over-year, marking the 17th consecutive quarter of double-digit expansion. This segment has been quietly becoming Expedia’s secret weapon: it’s higher-margin, less volatile, and less dependent on advertising spend. Meanwhile, the consumer side didn’t underperform; B2C gross bookings grew 7%, buoyed by strong domestic travel and a still-stable appetite for leisure trips. Lodging was the main driver overall, with hotel bookings up 15%, suggesting travelers are still choosing full accommodations rather than scaling back to lower-cost stays.
Margins told an arguably better story than the revenue line. Adjusted EBITDA rose 16%, and margins expanded by 208 basis points—evidence of cost discipline and platform efficiency improvements starting to matter. Operating income rose 36%, and GAAP net income increased 40%, which is not the kind of bottom-line jump you get by accident or cost-cutting alone. It suggests pricing power and mix were favorable, not merely operational trimming. Diluted GAAP EPS rose 45%, a number even the most jaded investor will take a long, appreciative look at.
Expedia seems confident about its footing, too—enough to continue returning capital. The company repurchased $451 million worth of shares during the quarter and has bought back $1.4 billion year-to-date. It also continues its $0.40 quarterly dividend, signaling that management sees earnings visibility rather than just one strong quarter riding post-pandemic travel inertia. The decision to raise full-year guidance reinforces that confidence: revenue growth is now expected to land in the 6–8% range and gross bookings are projected to expand similarly, while adjusted EBITDA margins should widen by about 2%.
The one slightly odd note is cash flow. Operating cash flow and free cash flow were both negative for the period, though this has happened before due to seasonal working capital swings and doesn’t appear tied to profitability deterioration. Still, some investors will want to see this normalize as the year closes. Confidence is good, but cash in accounts is better.
The broader takeaway is that Expedia has finally found a more stable identity within the travel ecosystem. The heavy lifting on platform modernization appears to be paying off, the marketplace flywheel between travelers and supply partners is spinning more smoothly, and the B2B engine is delivering durable, compounding growth. The travel cycle is far from overheated, but it also hasn’t rolled over the way pessimists predicted. For now, Expedia is not only participating in demand recovery—it’s outperforming it.
The coming quarters will test the sustainability of U.S. growth, the competitive pressure from Booking in Europe, and how well Expedia navigates the continuing shift toward mobile-native travel planning. But this quarter suggests the company is moving with momentum rather than drift. And that, in this industry, is half the battle already won.
